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U.S. removes defunct Saudi-linked American charity from blacklist
Source: Reuters
U.S. | Fri Sep 16, 2016 | 6:54pm EDT
U.S. removes defunct Saudi-linked American charity from blacklist
By Yeganeh Torbati | WASHINGTON
The United States on Friday removed a defunct charity with links to Saudi Arabia from its sanctions blacklist as part of a settlement with the charity that ends a lengthy dispute arising from claims that it funneled money to terrorists, the Treasury Department said.
The U.S. decision in 2004 to blacklist the Oregon-based Al Haramain Islamic Foundation sparked a legal battle in which the charity's lawyers accused the government of hiding behind classified evidence and national security claims to shut down a legitimate charity.
The case, and others in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, concerned civil liberties advocates, who accused the U.S. government of using overly broad authorities, opaque procedures and secret evidence to close Islamic charities.
According to court records, lawyers for Al Haramain realized the government was monitoring legally privileged communications with their client when the government accidentally gave them a Top Secret document related to the surveillance.
A Treasury spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control delisted Al Haramain's U.S. branch after the charity had agreed to dissolve. Foreign branches of Al Haramain, including in Somalia, Bosnia and Kenya, remain on the blacklist.
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U.S. removes defunct Saudi-linked American charity from blacklist
By Yeganeh Torbati | WASHINGTON
The United States on Friday removed a defunct charity with links to Saudi Arabia from its sanctions blacklist as part of a settlement with the charity that ends a lengthy dispute arising from claims that it funneled money to terrorists, the Treasury Department said.
The U.S. decision in 2004 to blacklist the Oregon-based Al Haramain Islamic Foundation sparked a legal battle in which the charity's lawyers accused the government of hiding behind classified evidence and national security claims to shut down a legitimate charity.
The case, and others in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, concerned civil liberties advocates, who accused the U.S. government of using overly broad authorities, opaque procedures and secret evidence to close Islamic charities.
According to court records, lawyers for Al Haramain realized the government was monitoring legally privileged communications with their client when the government accidentally gave them a Top Secret document related to the surveillance.
A Treasury spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control delisted Al Haramain's U.S. branch after the charity had agreed to dissolve. Foreign branches of Al Haramain, including in Somalia, Bosnia and Kenya, remain on the blacklist.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-treasury-saudi-charity-idUSKCN11M2GQ
