Yemeni victims to sue Berlin over US drone attacks
Victims of US drone strikes in Yemen will challenge what they call Germany’s complicity in the deadly attacks at a court next week.
The case of three Yemenis, who lost their relatives in US drone attacks in August 2012, will be heard at the court in the western German city of Cologne on May 27, British daily The Guardian reported on Friday.
Lawyers for the victims hold the German government responsible for the death of civilians, raising the case of the US-run Ramstein Air Base in Germany’s southwest.
The Yemeni victims argue that Ramstein relays crucial information that enables drone operators in the Western US state of Nevada to communicate with the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Yemen as well as Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
“We hope that German justice will be robustly administered and will prevail and this will be a significant step towards the end of civilian casualties and the suffering of Yemenis as a result of the US’s illegal drone programme, in which Ramstein appears to play a pivotal role,” said Kat Craig, the legal director of the London-based international human rights organization Reprieve.
In a statement issued via the rights organization in December last year, Faisal bin Ali Jaber, one of those suing the German government, expressed hope that Berlin would recognize its role in the deadly US attacks.
“Ramstein airbase on German soil … provided information and other logistical support to the aviation operations and therefore it is complicit in one way or another,” he said.
Over the past years, Washington has conducted drone strikes in Yemen despite the chaotic situation in the Arab country.
The United States acknowledges using drones as part of its targeted killing campaign in a number of countries to eliminate what it regards as militants. However, it does not comment publicly on individual cases of the aerial bombing campaign.
SSM/NN/HRB
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