UK ‘on notice’ after court rules Germany failed in duty to protect innocent civilians from US drones

Jennifer Gibson

The case marks the first time a European country has been found to play an essential role in US drone strikes, with the court holding that Germany’s role means it has a duty to protect the right to life of those being targeted.

Faisal Bin Ali Jaber, a Yemeni engineer, brought the claim with two of his family members, with help from Reprieve and European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). His brother-in-law, Salem bin ali Jaber, was an imam who preached against Al Qaeda just days before the US killed him and his nephew, Waleed, a policeman, in August 2012.

In its decision, the court acknowledged that Mr Jaber and his family “are justified in fearing risks to life and limb from US drone strikes that use Ramstein Air Base in violation of international law”. Ramstein Air Base provides the satellite relay infrastructure - without which drone strikes wouldn’t be possible.

It went on to state that there were “weighty indicators to suggest that at least part of the US armed drone strikes…in Yemen are not compatible with international law and that plaintiffs’ right to life is therefore unlawfully compromised”.

The German government’s declarations to the contrary, according to the court, were based on “insufficient fact-finding and ultimately not legally sustainable”.

The court also noted that the fact that Mr Jaber and his family were denied a judicial review by the American courts of their relatives’ deaths “runs counter to the idea that there were any [independent investigations by US authorities]”.

The UK government has admitted that it works “with allies” on the US drone programme to “negate the threat”, but has refused to answer further questions, including on what role UK bases are playing, the legal frameworks around intelligence sharing for such strikes, and whether any safeguards exist.

Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights in 2016 raised concerns that the UK government demonstrated a “misunderstanding of the legal frameworks that apply” to the use of armed drones outside of war zones and warned that UK support for the US programme could potentially expose ministers and others to risk of criminal prosecution.

Jennifer Gibson, Reprieve lawyer for Mr Jaber, said: “This is a ground breaking result. The court has made one thing very clear to Germany - they can no longer hide in the shadows and absolve themselves of responsibility for the innocent lives being destroyed by Trump’s illegal drone programme. The UK and other European countries are now on notice. They must hold President Trump to account and stop being complicit in these crimes.”