NYN | News:
French news agency “AFP” reported on Tuesday that the French judiciary has 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.
The agency, citing a “close” source, added that “the chief investigating judge in the department of crimes against humanity at the Paris court issued on March 13th an order to dismiss 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 Sanaa.”
The complaint targeted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the chiefs of staff of their armies at the time, accusing them of committing war crimes based on documents, testimonies, UN reports, and journalistic articles.
The complaint mentioned “various crimes including torture, enforced disappearance, criminal conspiracy, terrorism, and even financing terrorism,” while the chief judge of the department dedicated to these crimes in Paris rejected the complaint for procedural reasons related to the ineligibility of the Legal Center for Rights and Development, and also considered that his country is not specialized in pursuing these issues.
Meanwhile, the Paris Court of Appeal will review an appeal filed on March 22nd against this rejection, and it will also rule on an appeal filed against another decision by the same investigating judge issued on December 28th, which rejects an initial complaint filed by the Legal Center for Rights and Development in 2018 targeting only Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Joseph Breham, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement to “AFP,” “More than six years since the first case, and more than three years since the second case without the courts making a fair decision on the admissibility of the lawsuit. There is certainly a shortage of resources, but perhaps also a heavy political burden?”
