Arab and International
Paris - (AFP) - Victims of the Yemen war filed a complaint Friday in France, particularly on charges of financing terrorism against the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, accusing the two countries of establishing an "alliance" with al-Qaeda. As their lawyer said. “Our best allies and arms buyers in the region are allied with our worst enemies who masterminded the Charlie Hebdo attacks” in Paris in January 2015, said lawyer Joseph Breham, who filed a complaint with his collaborator Julie Baleno as a civil rights side in Paris. Especially in the name of the Yemeni non-governmental organization “The Legal Center for Rights and Development,” which is considered close to the Houthi rebels and is based in Sanaa. It is facing the Houthi rebels, who are politically backed by Iran. The UAE withdrew its forces from Yemen in 2019, but it remains a member of the coalition. The United States considers Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which was founded in 2009, to be the most dangerous branch of the jihadist network. The organization took advantage of the chaos caused by the war and launched attacks against the Houthis and government forces. “Many observers emphasized the de facto alliance with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula against Ansar Allah (Houthis) forces, especially through financial and equipment support, as well as operational cooperation,” the complaint states. According to the plaintiffs, the coalition may have paid, especially through the “First Abu Dhabi Bank,” money to the terrorist organization “in exchange for its withdrawal from the cities it controlled.” Abu Abbas, a member of the Arabian Peninsula Organization, “listed as a terrorist by the US Treasury since 2017.” On behalf of eight victims of torture or bombing carried out by the coalition, Briham also accuses Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the chiefs of staff of the two armies of “crimes of torture,” “enforced disappearances,” and “war crimes.” And “forming a terrorist criminal gang.” And with Julie Baleno, he relies on documents from the intelligence of Ansar Allah (Houthis), testimonies, reports to the United Nations, and press articles. Braham says that the French judiciary is authorized to sue the Saudi Crown Prince and the Crown Prince of the Emirates, especially because the Frenchman Peter Sharif is close Among the perpetrators of the assassination of the Charlie Hebdo journalists and an “active member” of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen between 2011 and 2018, he “definitely participated in the formation of a gang of terrorist criminals.” Civil rights complaints almost automatically allow the appointment of an investigative judge to carry out his investigations. And the procedures could collide with the immunity of political leaders who are targeted by the complaint. During seven years, Yemen has plunged into one of the worst humanitarian tragedies in the world, according to the United Nations, as more than two-thirds of the people depend on international aid. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced, according to NGOs.
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