Yemen Monitor/ (AFP)
The Paris Court of Appeal definitively rejected two complaints filed in the French capital in 2018 and 2021 accusing Saudi and Emirati officials of committing war crimes and financing terrorism during the conflict in Yemen, a source familiar with the case told AFP.
On December 4, the investigation chamber ruled that there was no reason to continue the investigations, confirming a similar decision issued in March by the chief investigating judge of the crimes against humanity section of the Paris court.
The chief investigating judge of the crimes against humanity section of the Paris court issued an order on March 13 dismissing a lawsuit filed at the end of 2021 by eight Yemenis and the “Legal Center for Rights and Development,” a Yemeni non-governmental organization considered close to the Houthi rebels and based in Sana’a.
The conflict in Yemen erupted in 2014 with the Houthis, backed by Iran, taking control of large areas in the north of the country, including the capital Sana’a. The following year, Saudi Arabia intervened at the head of a military coalition that includes the UAE in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which further fueled the conflict that has left hundreds of thousands dead.
The complaint targeted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the then chiefs of staff of the two armies, accusing them of committing war crimes, and spoke of various crimes, including torture, enforced disappearance, criminal terrorist conspiracy, and even financing terrorism.
The complaint was based on documents, testimonies, UN reports, and press articles.
The chief judge of the section dedicated to these crimes in Paris rejected the complaint for procedural reasons related to the lack of standing of the “Legal Center for Rights and Development,” and also considered that his country is not specialized in prosecuting these cases.
The lawyers for the plaintiffs, Joseph Breham, told AFP that no appeal was filed and that he “regrets the decision which did not live up to the obligations arising from international humanitarian law and human rights.”
