Egyptian businessman wins lawsuit against Switzerland

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of Egyptian businessman Youssef Nada. The court ruled that Switzerland violated Nada’s human rights by restricting his cross-border movements after Nada was put on a blacklist on suspicions of financing terrorism.

Nada was accused by the United States of helping finance the 9/11 terrorist attacks and placed on a sanctions list approved by the United Nations Security Council, which placed travel restrictions on all persons on the list. When Switzerland implemented the sanctions, the individuals or groups affected were banned from entering or transiting through Switzerland. In Nada’s case no evidence against him was ever found, yet he remained trapped in an Italian enclave within Switzerland for several years.

The court in Strasbourg ruled that “Switzerland should have taken all possible measures, within the latitude available to it, to adapt the sanctions regime to the applicant’s individual situation”. The court said Switzerland was to pay Nada €30,000 to cover his costs and expenses.
(SF/swissinfo.ch)