British courts rule arms sale to Saudi Arabia is lawful

BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:30 P.M.) – A London high court has ruled that the British regime’s multi-billion dollar arms sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is lawful and will not be blocked.

Members of the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) attempted to have a London high court block the sale of British-manufactured bombs, warplanes, and weapons to the KSA because the latter was using them to kill civilians in Yemen.

Despite their best efforts, CAAT would ultimately lose the case, as the London high court ruled “the claimant’s claim for judicial review is dismissed”.

The court claimed Saudi Arabia had made positive steps to address the humanitarian situation in Yemen, adding that the Gulf nation had “sought positively to address concerns about international humanitarian law.”

“If this verdict is upheld then it will be seen as a green light for government to continue arming and supporting brutal dictatorships and human rights abusers like Saudi Arabia that have shown a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law,” CAAT’s Andrew Smith said in a statement, as quoted by Al-Jazeera.

The Yemeni conflict has been ongoing since March 2015 and continues to be a focal point for Saudi Arabia, as they attempt to restore exiled president ‘Abd Rubbah Mansour’s power in the country.