On July 20, 2006 a Turkish administrative court overturned a government order to seize the assets of Yassin Al Kadi, designated as an individual associated to Al Qaeda and the Taliban by the UN Security Council. The decision was apparently made on technical grounds.
The decision came days after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended al-Qadi as a "charitable person" and after the Turkish press revealed that Yassin Al Kadi had received funds from a close advisor to the Turkish Prime Minister.
This unprecedented Turkish ruling clearly contradicts the international obligations of the Turkish government. As recently reaffirmed by the European Court of Justice, “according to international law, the obligations of the Member States of the United Nations under the Charter of the United Nations prevail over any other obligation".
The situation created by this decision will now force the Turkish government to take a clear stand on the Kadi issue and beyond to show its real willingness to respect its international and European obligations.
