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UK Govt Says Halting Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia Would Have Risks

The British government has claimed it cannot halt its weapons sales to Saudi Arabia because of “serious political ramifications” Halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia over concerns that British-made weapons could be used to break humanitarian laws in Yemen would have “serious political ramifications”, a London court heard on Wednesday. Government lawyer James Eadie made the remarks during a UK High Court’s judicial review of London’s extensive arms deals with Riyadh. Outside the High Court ahead of today’s Judicial Review of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia https://t.co/qCT7at2rEl #StopArmingSaudi pic.twitter.com/J7R88fYzI6 — CAAT (@CAATuk) February 7, 2017 Press TV reports: Led by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), British activists have brought the case to the court, accusing May’s government of complicity in Riyadh’s war crimes against Yemen. Britain has signed off £3.3 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia since March 26, 2015, when the Saudi began its deadly military aggression against Yemen, killing over 11,000 Yemeni civilians. Denying CAAT’s charges, Eadie argued that the government should not prevent weapons manufacturers from following their business interests. “If you refuse to allow exports you interfere with the interests – if not rights – of those who wish to export their goods,” [...]

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