adminEUROPEAN Union sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe were legitimate, a European court ruled Wednesday, dismissing a complaint by former Attorney General Johannes Tomana and 120 other individuals and companies.
In 2002, the European Union started imposing asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and entities associated with President Robert Mugabe, in response to what it claimed was a government crackdown on the opposition and the government’s compulsory acquisition of land from white farmers to resettle landless blacks.
Many of those sanctions were lifted last year, although President Mugabe, his wife and the Zimbabwe Defence Industries remain subject to an asset freeze and travel ban. An EU arms embargo also remains in effect.
Tomana, along with 109 other individuals and 11 companies, challenged their blacklisting before the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg, arguing that there was no legal basis for the measures and that the EU had not given sufficient reasons.
At the time, the EU had found Tomana to be “engaged in activities that seriously undermine democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law” and had “broadly comparable” reasons to blacklist the other people and companies, the court said in a statement.
The court added that the sanctions were “imposed because of alleged conduct which formed part of a strategy of intimidation and systematic violation of the fundamental rights of the Zimbabwean people.”
It also ruled that the sanctions targeted “leaders of Zimbabwe or . . . associates of those leaders” and said the fact they held these positions was “sufficient to justify their listing.”
The complainants have two months to challenge the decision before the European Court of Justice, the bloc’s top arbiter. — Chronicle Reporter/Agencies
Bongani Moyo
Online Reporter