Youssef Nada

Youssef Nada

Youssef Moustafa Nada (born 1931 in Egypt) is a noted businessman and Muslim Brotherhood financial strategist. Nada is most famous for raising successful European human rights legal cases to defend himself against accusations of terrorism by the United States. The U.S. accusations, made directly after the 9/11 attacks, resulted in his placement on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 terror blacklist.

In 2001, Nada, former chairman of al Taqwa Bank, was placed on the UN terror list by the US Treasury Department. Nada was alleged to have financed activities of al Qaeda, charges Nada vehemently denied. The U.S. accusation was made applicable under the UN terror-listing program and affected his life in Switzerland, notably his assets, reputation, honor, and ability to move freely. In 2006 he sued the Swiss government for restitution of financial losses due to the Swiss investigation.

By 2009, both the Swiss and Italian investigations of Nada were dropped as no evidence was found to support the U.S. accusations. Both Switzerland and Italy petitioned the UN Terrorism Committee to remove Nada's name from the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 blacklist, at the objection of the United States. The U.S. finally acquiesced to his removal on September 24, 2009, but retained Nada on the domestic U.S. Treasury list under Executive Order 13224.

The United States refuses to disclose evidence of Nada's guilt, claiming that the evidence is classified.

Between 2007–2009, Nada's ordeal was the focal point of a Council of Europe Parliamentary human rights investigation of the UN terror-blacklisting procedures, and the UN Terrorism Committee in general.

In 2008, Nada raised a case against Switzerland at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

On September 12, 2012, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of Nada, citing that Nada's human rights had been violated, in the context of the European Convention on Human Rights. In this ruling the government of Switzerland was ordered to pay Nada 30,000 Euros in damages, for their treatment of him as a person placed — with no evidence of guilt — on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 terror blacklist by the United States.