BRUSSELS, September 25 (RIA Novosti) – The General Court of the European Union has lifted sanctions from Ahmed Gaddaf Dam, the cousin of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the court said in a press release adding that it no longer saw any reasonable grounds to keep him on the blacklist.
"The General Court annuls the retention of Mr Qadhaf Al Dam, cousin of Muammar Qadhafi, on the list of persons subject to restrictive measures against Libya," the release stated on Wednesday. "The Council has not justified the reasons for keeping his name on that list from 2013 to 2014."
Ahmed Gaddaf Dam was one of the persons on the list of restrictive measures implemented by the European Council in 2011 against a number of individuals with links to the Libyan Government. The measures included assets freezes and a ban on entry to or transit through the EU member states.
"Individual sanctions, especially from the European Union, are a crucial form of leverage in determining the calculations of Libyan warlords so it would be unfortunate if the system was struck down by a court verdict," Mattia Toaldo, a Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in London said, commenting on the matter.
In 2013 and 2014, the Council retained the name of Gaddafi's cousin on the list.
The decision still may be appealed in the Court of Justice. In case an appeal is filed, the court will suspend its judgment until the final decision.
