LONDON (Press TV) – Human rights activists in the United Kingdom have called on British authorities to issue a warrant for the arrest of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his imminent visit to the country for war crimes committed in Yemen.
Kim Sharif, the director of Human Rights for Yemen from London, submitted an application to Westminster Magistrates’ Court and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to issue the arrest warrant as the crown prince is expected to visit Britain in the coming weeks.
Sharif said the documents submitted to the court contained evidence of war crimes, witness statements regarding instances of war crimes and reports from reputable NGOs that confirmed the commission of these crimes in the war-ravaged country.
"There is jurisdiction in the UK to try war criminals and there is no immunity for such crimes, irrespective of where they have been committed. Salman is ultimately responsible for these crimes and he must be arrested for war crimes during his anticipated visit to the UK soon,” Sharif said.
Opposing Bin Salman’s imminent visit to Britain, the director of Human Rights for Yemen said that "It would not be good for us, Britain… to be receiving brutal dictators such as this man.”
"We believe that Saudi forces are committing war crimes, and violating the Geneva Conventions and its Protocols with impunity,” Sharif noted. "If he wants to submit to the UK authorities to answer to war crimes, he is welcome.”
The legal challenge comes as a coalition of human rights groups, including the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and Arab Organization for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK), have asked UK Prime Minister Theresa May to withdraw an invitation extended to the Saudi crown prince to visit the UK.
"Bin Salman is the second most senior member of the Saudi regime, which has one of the worst human rights records in the world. Torture, arbitrary detention, and other appalling abuses are widely documented,” the coalition said in a statement.