September, 01 2015, 08:45am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Reprieve: +44 (0) 207 553 8140 / alice [DOT] gillham [AT] reprieve.org.uk
Yemeni Drone Victim Appeals to Court to End German Role in US Strikes
WASHINGTON
A Yemeni family whose relatives were killed in a US drone strike have appealed to a German court to ensure that a US base in the country is not used for further attacks, which might endanger their lives.
In May 2014, a court in Cologne heard evidence from Faisal bin Ali Jaber, an environmental engineer from Sana'a, following revelations that Ramstein air base is used by the US to facilitate American drone strikes in Yemen. Mr Jaber is bringing the case against Germany - represented by international human rights organization Reprieve and its local partner the European Center for Human Rights (ECCHR) - for failing to stop the bases on its territory from being used for the attacks that have killed civilians.
Although the court ruled against Mr bin Ali Jaber in the May hearing, it gave him immediate permission to appeal the decision, while the judges agreed with his assertion that it is 'plausible' Ramstein air base is crucial in facilitating drone strikes in Yemen. Today's appeal, filed at the Higher Administrative Court in Munster, asks the German government to end the country's complicity in the extrajudicial killings.
Mr Jaber lost his brother-in-law Salim, a preacher, and his nephew Waleed, a local police officer, when a US strike hit the village of Khashamir on 29 August 2012. Salim often spoke out against extremism, and had used a sermon just days before he was killed to urge those present to reject Al Qaeda.
Kat Craig, Legal Director at Reprieve said: "It is now clear that US bases on German territory, such as Ramstein, provide a crucial hub for the launching of drone strikes in countries like Yemen - leading to scores of civilians being killed. Faisal bin Ali Jaber and the countless other victims like him are right to call for an end to European countries' complicity in these terrible attacks. The German courts have already signalled their serious concerns - now the government must be held accountable for allowing the use of German soil to carry out these killings."
Andreas Schuller of the ECCHR said: "Drone strikes carried out outside of conflict zones are nothing but extrajudicial targeted killings - the implementation of death sentences without any trial. German authorities are under an obligation to protect individuals - including people living in Yemen - from suffering harm caused by breaches of international law involving Germany, but the exchange of diplomatic notes between the German and US government has to date proven to be wholly unsuitable. There needs to be a public debate on whether Germany is really doing enough to prevent violations of international law and the murder of innocent people."
Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay.
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