German Court Calls Hezbollah a Terrorist Organization
By Matthew Levitt
Agence France Presse (AFP) reported yesterday that a German court upheld a lower court's deportation order against a Hezbollah representative who had lived in Germany for some 20 years. The Dusseldorf court denied the Hezbollah member a visa saying he "is a member of an organization that supports international terrorism." In a statement, the court said that "Hezbollah is waging a war with bomb attacks against Israel with 'inhumane brutality' against civilians."
While not a policy decision of the German government (the ruling was issued by a judge in an independent judiciary), the ruling is a key milestone nonetheless. While European Union's (EU) terrorism list does not include Hezbollah, the court ruled that Germany should not be bound by the EU decision.
Additionally, the decision comes in the wake of recent French and U.S. action against Hezbollah's satellite television station, al Manar, which is no less significant. For more on the U.S. designation of al Manar as a terrorist entity, see Avi Jorisch and Matthew Levitt, "Banning Hezbollah TV in Amercia," PolicyWatch #930, December 13, 2004, available online at http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/watch/Policywatch/policywatch2004/930.htm
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