Five men jailed for supporting Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers (LTTE) last October have begun their appeal against conviction in The Hague. The case marks the first time an EU member state has considered the question of whether the Tamil Tigers is a terrorist organization. It could result in a change of EU law.

The Dutch court of first instance in its decision on October 21, 2011, said that the LTTE is not a terrorist organization. It then convicted the five defendants for giving money to an organization listed by the EU as a banned terrorist group. Supporters of the men and legal observers were quick to point out the apparent inconsistency.

Representing the five Sri Lankan Tamils, who hold Dutch passports, defence lawyer Tamara Buruma told RNW, “Dutch law makes it illegal to provide support for a group on the EU terror list – it doesn’t hold any other demands showing that this is a terrorist organization.”

Flawed law
For Buruma and Victor Koppe, one of the Netherlands’ most high profile international criminal lawyers, their clients’ convictions of between two and six years are based on this contradiction. They argue that the Dutch law used to jail the Dutch Tamil Tiger Five is flawed.

“The [Dutch] law [making it illegal to give money to a terror group] is incompatible with the European Treaty on Human Rights, in the sense that it makes it impossible for people to know when they are considered criminals or not. It would be a very strange verdict if a judge in the same case can say on the one hand the [terror] list is wrong but on the other hand, even though that list is wrong, you’re still a criminal because of it.”

Impact on list
Last summer Victor Koppe’s team filed an application to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to have the LTTE removed from its list of banned terror groups. If the appeal in the current case is upheld there is a good chance the ECJ’s decision on that matter will also follow in favour of declassifying the Sri Lankan Tamil minority group.

“No other court in Europe has yet declared the LTTE a terrorist organization, and if an independent judge says it’s not a terrorist group then I would expect the ECJ to have to pay attention to that,” said Tamara Buruma.

Last ditch
The Sri Lankan government is dismissive of the Tamil Tiger appeal proceedings, suggesting the men are clutching at straws.

“This is a losing battle for the LTTE Group…. They are classified as a criminal group by judges here [in the Netherlands]… and they are on the terrorist list not just for the EU but also the USA, Australia and India,” Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to The Netherlands, Buddhi Athauda, told RNW.

Story written by Richard Walker from RNW's International Justice desk.