UK High Court Rejects Bid To Halt British Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia
By Arab News
Britain’s High Court ruled on Monday that UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia are not unlawful, after campaigners argued the weapons were used to violate international humanitarian law in bombing Yemen.
“We have concluded that the material decisions of the secretary of state were lawful. We therefore dismiss the claim,” Lord Justice Burnett said at the court in London.
He added it was not established that there was “a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
Half the evidence presented in the case was heard in secret after the government argued it could not be heard in public for national security reasons.
Campaign Against Arms Trade, the non-profit organization behind the legal challenge, said that they are pursuing an appeal.
For the past two years, Yemen has been plunged into a civil war between Shiite Houthi rebels and government forces backed by a Saudi-led Arab military coalition.
Saudi Arabia is Britain’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, with exports of more than £6.5 billion ($8.4 billion) in British goods and services to the country in 2015.