EU General Court Annuls Sanctions Listings on Mubarak and His Family Members

The EU General Court upheld a lower court ruling that struck down the sanctions listings on former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his family members Gamal Mubarak, Alaa Mubarak, Heidy Rasekh, Khadiga El Gammal and Suzanne Saleh Thabet. The European Court of Justice had annulled the sanctions listings for Mubarak's family made in 2016 and 2017 and the 2018 listing of Mubarak himself. In March 2021, the EU reversed its Egypt sanctions, lifting restrictions on nine individuals. The General Court's April 6 ruling drops the sanctions imposed in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The court said it was unclear whether prior to implementing the sanctions, the European Council had fulfilled its duty to verify that the rights of defense and effective judicial protection were respected for the parties or that the council's actions were inadequate.