The European Union's second highest court has ruled the bloc has the right to freeze the assets of citizens the United Nations suspects of terrorist links.
The Luxembourg-based Court of First Instance says the EU has the right freeze the accounts of individuals in connection with the fight against international terrorism. It issued the ruling Wednesday in response to a case brought by at least three people whose assets were frozen because of suspected links to Osama bin Laden.
The court added that freezing assets does not violate universally recognized human rights.
The U.N. Security Council in 1999 called on nations to freeze the assets of groups and individuals with suspected links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and Afghanistan's ousted Taleban regime.
Some information in this story provided by AP.
