Latest news with #KhalidbinAliJaber
Yemen Online
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yemen Online
Court rejects German responsibility in Yemen drone case
The German Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Germany did not violate international law by failing to strictly monitor or prevent US drone attacks carried out with the help of signals from the Ramstein air base. The ruling comes after two Yemenis who say they had family members killed in a US drone attack in their home country more than 10 years ago, invoking the right to life and physical integrity enshrined in the German constitution in a complaint to the court. What did the court say? The court did state that Germany had a certain obligation to protect basic human rights even of foreigners living abroad. However, it said it had been unable to establish that the US had employed unjustifiable criteria in its differentiation between military targets and civilians in its attack. The court also ruled that any such attack would have to have a sufficient connection to German state authority for the obligation to hold, something that it said could not be claimed in this case. The ECCHR, who supported the plaintiffs, told DW that it was "unlikely" that they would pursue the case further, for example at the European Court of Human Rights. The German government has welcomed the verdict. A joint statement by the Foreign and Defense Ministries said that the court had recognized the wide leeway granted to the government in assessing whether an action by a third country conformed to international law. The statement said the ruling sent an important signal with regard to Germany's actions in the spheres of foreign affairs and security. What was the case against the Ramstein air base? The two Yemeni men bringing the case, Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber, said they lost some of their relatives in a US drone strike on the village of Khashamir in 2012 that occurred during a wedding meal of a male family member. They argued that Germany held partial responsibility for the attack, as the drone mission used signals relayed from the Ramstein base, situated near the city of Kaiserslautern in the southwest. The two men were supported in their case by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which has said: "Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen." Assessing German responsibility The case has been before the courts for more than 10 years, being initially rejected in 2015 before a higher administrative court in the city Münster in 2019 ordered the German government to investigate the legality of the US use of the Ramstein airbase for such attacks. That ruling was then overturned by a federal court. The German Defense Ministry has argued that Berlin has received repeated assurances from Washington that no drones are launched, controlled or commanded from Germany and that US forces have adhered to international law in their actions. For years, the US has carried out drone attacks on suspected militants from the terrorist group al-Qaeda in Yemen.
Int'l Business Times
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
German Court Rejects Yemenis' Claim Over US Strikes
Germany's highest court on Tuesday threw out a case brought by two Yemenis seeking to sue Berlin over the role of the US Ramstein airbase in a 2012 drone attack, ending a years-long legal saga. Plaintiffs Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber first brought their case to court in 2014 after losing members of their family in the strike on the village of Khashamir. The case has since been through several German courts. But the Constitutional Court on Tuesday ultimately ruled that Berlin is not required to take action against such attacks, which were not judged to be in breach of international law. Washington has for years launched drone strikes targeting suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, an impoverished country that has been torn by fierce fighting between its beleaguered Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed rebels. The two Yemeni men, supported by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), had argued that Germany was partly responsible for the attack because the strike was aided by signals relayed via the Ramstein base in western Germany. "Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen," the group said. The ECCHR's Andreas Schueller argued that "the German government must put an end to the use of this base -- otherwise the government is making itself complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians". The court found that Germany "does have a general duty to protect fundamental human rights and the core norms of international humanitarian law, even in cases involving foreign countries". However, in order for this duty to be binding, there must be "a serious risk of systematic violation of applicable international law". "Measured against these standards, the constitutional complaint is unfounded," the court said. The ECCHR said the ruling had "failed to send a strong signal" and meant that "instead, individual legal protection remains a theoretical possibility without practical consequences". However, Schueller said the verdict "leaves the door open for future cases". "Violations of international law can be subject to judicial review, even if the court imposes high hurdles. This is an important statement by the Constitutional Court in these times," he said. According to the ECCHR, the two Yemeni men were having dinner ahead of the wedding of a male family member in 2012 when they heard the buzz of a drone and then the boom of missile attacks that claimed multiple lives. Their case against Germany was initially thrown out, before the higher administrative court in Muenster ruled in their favour in 2019. However, the government appealed and a higher court overturned the decision in 2020, arguing that German diplomatic efforts were enough to ensure Washington was adhering to international law. In a statement shared by the ECCHR, the two men called the ruling "dangerous and disturbing". "(It) suggests countries that provide assistance to the US assassination programme bear no responsibility when civilians are killed. Our hearts are broken, and our faith in international law is shaken," they said. The German government welcomed the ruling, which it said showed that Berlin had "a wide margin of discretion in assessing whether the actions of third states comply with international law". "According to the ruling, the government has no fundamental duty to protect foreigners abroad who are affected by military action by third states if, in the government's assessment, these attacks are within the bounds of what is permissible under international law," the defence and foreign ministries said in a statement. Washington has for years launched drone strikes targeting suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen AFP Two Yemeni men have lost their case against the German government over the role of the Ramstein airbase in US drone attacks on Yemen AFP
Al-Ahram Weekly
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
German court rejects Yemenis' claim over US strikes - Region
Germany's highest court on Tuesday threw out a case brought by two Yemenis seeking to sue Berlin over the role of the US Ramstein airbase in a 2012 drone attack, ending a years-long legal saga. Plaintiffs Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber first brought their case to court in 2014 after losing members of their family in the attack on the village of Khashamir. The case has since been through several German courts, with mixed results, but the Constitutional Court on Tuesday said that ultimately it could not be proven that the drone attack had broken international law. Washington has for years launched drone strikes targeting suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, an impoverished country that has been torn by fierce fighting between its beleaguered Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed rebels. The two Yemeni men, supported by the Berlin-based European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), had argued that Germany was partly responsible for the attack because the strike was aided by signals relayed via the Ramstein base in western Germany. "Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen," according to the ECCHR. The ECCHR's Andreas Schueller, programme director for international crimes, argued that "the German government must put an end to the use of this base -- otherwise the government is making itself complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians". 'Trusting dialogue' The court found that Germany "does have a general duty to protect fundamental human rights and the core norms of international humanitarian law, even in cases involving foreign countries", according to the written verdict. However, for this duty to be binding, there must be "a serious risk of systematic violation of applicable international law". "Measured against these standards, the constitutional complaint is unfounded," the court said. According to the ECCHR, the two Yemeni men were having dinner ahead of the wedding of a male family member in 2012 when they heard the buzz of a drone and then the boom of missile attacks that claimed multiple lives. Their case against Germany was initially thrown out, before the higher administrative court in Muenster ruled in their favour in 2019. However, the government appealed and a higher court overturned the decision in 2020, arguing that German diplomatic efforts were enough to ensure Washington was adhering to international law. Ahead of the latest proceedings, which opened in December 2024, the German defence ministry said Berlin was "in an ongoing and trusting dialogue" with the United States about its activities at Ramstein. The government has repeatedly obtained assurances that drones are not launched, controlled or commanded from Germany and that US forces are acting lawfully, the ministry said. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Euractiv
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Euractiv
Germany's highest court on Tuesday threw out a case brought by two Yemenis seeking to sue Berlin over the role of the US Ramstein airbase in a 2012 drone attack, ending a years-long legal saga.
Plaintiffs Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber first brought their case to court in 2014 after losing members of their family in the attack on the Yemeni village of Khashamir. The case has since been through several German courts, with mixed results, but the constitutional court on Tuesday said that ultimately it could not be proven that the drone attack had broken international law. Washington has for years launched drone strikes targeting suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, an impoverished country that has been torn by fierce fighting between its beleaguered Saudi-backed government and Iran-backed rebels. The two Yemeni men, supported by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), had argued that Germany was partly responsible for the attack because the strike was aided by signals relayed via the Ramstein base in western Germany. "Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen," according to the ECCHR. The ECCHR's Andreas Schueller, programme director for international crimes, argued that "the German government must put an end to the use of this base – otherwise the government is making itself complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians". 'Trusting dialogue' The court found that Germany "does have a general duty to protect fundamental human rights and the core norms of international humanitarian law, even in cases involving foreign countries", according to the written verdict. However, in order for this duty to be binding, there must be "a serious risk of systematic violation of applicable international law". "Measured against these standards, the constitutional complaint is unfounded," the court said. According to the ECCHR, the two Yemeni men were having dinner ahead of the wedding of a male family member in 2012 when they heard the buzz of a drone and then the boom of missile attacks that claimed multiple lives. Their case against Germany was initially thrown out, before the higher administrative court in Münster ruled in their favour in 2019. However, the government appealed and a higher court overturned the decision in 2020, arguing that German diplomatic efforts were enough to ensure Washington was adhering to international law. Ahead of the latest proceedings, which opened in December 2024, the German defence ministry said Berlin was "in an ongoing and trusting dialogue" with the United States about its activities at Ramstein. The government has repeatedly obtained assurances that drones are not launched, controlled or commanded from Germany and that US forces are acting lawfully, the ministry said. (vib)
DW
18 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Court rejects German responsibility in Yemen drone case – DW – 07/15/2025
The Constitutional Court has ruled that Berlin is not in breach of international law over US drone attacks guided from Germany. The case was brought by two Yemenis whose relatives were killed in a 2012 US drone mission. The German Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Germany did not violate international law by failing to strictly monitor or prevent US drone attacks carried out with the help of signals from the Ramstein air base. The ruling comes after two Yemenis who say they had family members killed in a US drone attack in their home country more than 10 years go invoked the right to life and physical integrity enshrined in the German constitution in a complaint to the court. The court did state that Germany had a certain obligation to protect basic human rights even of foreigners living abroad. However, it said it had been unable to establish that the US had employed unjustificable criteria in its differentiation between military targets and civilians in its attack. The court also ruled that any such attack would have to have a sufficient connection to German state authority for the obligation to hold, something that it said could not be claimed in this case. The two Yemeni men bringing the case, Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber, said they lost some of their relatives in a US drone strike on the village of Khashamir in 2012 that occurred during a wedding meal of a male family member. They argued that Germany held partial responsibility for the attack, as the drone mission used signals relayed from the Ramstein base, situated near the city of Kaiserslautern in the southwest. The two men were supported in their case by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which has said: "Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen." The case has been before the courts for more than 10 years, being initially rejected in 2015 before a higher administrative court in the city Münster in 2019 ordered the German government to investigate the legality of the US use of the Ramstein airbase for such attacks. That ruling was then overturned by a federal court. The German Defense Ministry has argued that Berlin has received repeated assurances from Washington that no drones are launched, controlled or commanded from Germany and that US forces have adhered to international law in their actions. For years, the US has carried out drone attacks on suspected militants from the terrorist group al-Qaeda in Yemen. More recently, it has also targeted Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the country, who have been disrupting shipping in the region in attacks they say are in support of Palestinians amid Israel's Gaza.
