The Dutch Supreme Court issued a judgment in the extradition case of Mahamud O, who is accused in the United States of providing material support to the Somali group Al Shabaab, which the US-government has designated as a terrorist group. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal without further explanation.
O. had challenged the extradition based on the argument that dual criminality, an essential concept in extradition law, was lacking. In the United States, any support of an organization listed as foreign terrorist organization is a criminal offense. In the Netherlands, the specific intent to support terrorist activities has to be proven before a person can be convicted. O. has argued that he had no such specific intent, given that his (alleged) support to Al Shabaab took place at a time that the organization was acting as a legitimate opposition to the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. Only after the withdrawal of Ethipia, early 2009, did Al Shabaab engage in more overtly terrorist rhetoric and activities.
Annexes
- Defense arguments on appeal
- Cassation brief to the Dutch Supreme Court
- Advisory Opinion by the Dutch Advocate-General
- Defense response to advisory opinion