A U.S. appeals court upheld the government’s right to block funds awarded in lawsuits brought by terrorism victims.
The New Orleans-based 5th circuit Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s 2004 decision blocking funds from the Holy Land Foundation of Texas from being sent to relatives of Yaron and Efrat Ungar, a couple killed by Hamas terrorists in 1996, the New York Sun reported.
Children of the couple won a $116 million judgment against the foundation, which is believed to have fund-raised for Hamas under the guise of raising money for impoverished Palestinians.
The government, pursuing a criminal case against Holy Land and seven of its officials, argued that it would be unreasonable to defend its forfeiture claims against the defendants from third parties like the Ungar heirs.
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