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Assad's uncle loses before EU court

January 21, 2015

An uncle of President Bashar al-Assad has failed to persuade the EU's General Court to annul sanctions imposed on Syria's ruling elite in 2011. Mohammad Makhlouf can still appeal.

https://p.dw.com/p/1ENmK
Syrien Präsident Bashar al-Assad
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

EU sanctions imposed three years ago to force President Bashar al-Assad Assad's family to end its crackdown on dissent in Syria were upheld by the EU's General Court in Luxembourg on Wednesday.

Makhlouf, a wealthy uncle of Assad, had sued the EU's Council of Ministers, seeking the removal of his name from a list of Syrian figures banned from entering the EU and whose assets in the bloc are frozen.

In its statement Wednesday, the court said the EU council had "succeeded in proving that Mr. Makhlouf is a member of the ruling economic class in Syria."

Rami Makhlouf
Assad's cousin and influencial figure Rami MahkloufImage: picture-alliance/abaca

The court said it could not be denied that Makhlouf was a principle advisor within the regime of Assad (pictured) and had decisive influence "over all the primary circle of rulers," including Mahklouf's offspring.

Makhlouf's son, Rami Makhlouf, is a dominant figure in businesses run from Damascus, and a cousin of Assad.

Makhlouf senior's lawyers had argued that the EU sanctions breached his right to privacy by eroding his purchasing power.

"The right to privacy is not intended to protect the individual against a loss of his purchasing power," said the Luxembourg-based court.

ipj/mz (Reuters, dpa)