The General Court of the European Union dismissed the appeal brought by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against its inclusion on the European list of terrorist organisations and maintained the freezing of its funds for 2015 in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, 6 March (Case T-289/15).
The organisation invoked several arguments before the General Court such as an error of assessment as to the terrorist character of the Hamas organisation, the violation of the principle of non-interference, infringements of the rights of the defence and the right to judicial protection before national courts.
In its judgment, the Tribunal looks into each of the arguments made by Hamas and rejects them in their totality, thus confirming the decision to extend the freezing of Hamas funds for 2015.
In December 2018, the Court also rejected an identical appeal by the Palestinian Islamist movement (Case T-400/10 against the EU Council decisions maintaining a freeze on its funds between 2010 and 2014 and in 2017 (see EUROPE 12160). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)