Italy Appeal Court Dismisses Iran Asset Seizure
EghtesadOnline: An Italian appeal court has overturned an earlier verdict by a lower court to temporarily freeze $5 billion belonging to the Central Bank of Iran demanded by American plaintiffs who blame Iran for a 1983 bombing of a US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.
Mohsen Mohebbi, head of the Presidential International Legal Center, told IRNA on Wednesday that the verdict of the Rome Court of Appeals was reached following efforts by CBI lawyers in Italy.
The US Supreme Court in 2016 had ruled that the assets must be turned over to American families of victims of the bombing.
"The US court’s verdict has not been recognized in Italy by a court in Rome that in June imposed a temporary freeze on CBI assets following a request by American plaintiffs," Mohebbi said. Iran has denied any involvement in the Beirut attack, Financial Tribune reported.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, held public hearings in the case concerning Iranian assets as of Monday. In 2016, Iran had filed a formal complaint with the court to recover nearly $2 billion in assets frozen in the United States.