8 Victims File Complaint against Saudi-Emirati Coalition

Today in France, 8 victims of the Saudi-led coalition war on Yemen filed a complaint against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for financing terrorism, accusing the 2 countries of establishing an "alliance with al-Qaeda," according to their lawyer. 

The complaint was submitted on behalf of the Yemeni NGO, the Legal Center for Rights and Development, which is based in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. 

"Our best allies and arms customers in the region are allied with our worst enemies, who orchestrated the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January 2015," said attorney Joseph Briham, who filed a complaint along with his assistant, Julie Baleno, in her capacity as a civil rights entity in Paris. 

The complaint stated that "many observers emphasized the de facto alliance with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula against Ansar Allah forces, particularly through financial and equipment support, as well as logistic cooperation."

According to the plaintiffs, "The coalition may have paid, especially through the First Abu Dhabi Bank, money to the terrorist al-Qaeda organization, in exchange for its withdrawal from the cities it controlled."

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 8 victims of torture or bombing carried out by the Saudi coalition, where lawyer Briham also accuses the Saudi Crown Prince and the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, as well as the chiefs of staff of the two armies, of "crimes of torture," "forced disappearance," "war crimes", and "forming a terrorist criminal gang."

Baleno, Briham's assistance, relied on documents from Ansar Allah's intelligence, as well as testimonies and United Nations reports and press articles.