UK delays release of information detailing arms sales to Saudi Arabia

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

The UK has been blamed for employing 'delaying tactics' to withhold documents related to Saudi arms sales, claiming that the release 'may not be in the public’s interest'

People gather at the scene of the airstrike carried out by Saudi-led coalition aircraft. (Photo credit: Reuters).

For the second time in a row, the UK Department of International Trade (DIT) has rejected the release of documents on the nation’s arms exports to Saudi Arabia, requiring 30 days of additional time to determine if “the clearance of the material better serves the public.”

Middle East Eye (MEE) was granted a freedom of information (FOI) request about armaments exports to Saudi Arabia between 1 and 15 October 2016, when the Saudi-led coalition was under inspection about an attack on a funeral that left more than 140 people dead and over 500 injured in the Yemeni capital.

The 8 October 2016 funeral, which was attended by several prominent political and security leaders from the Ansarallah resistance movement and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was the target of two air attacks carried out by the Saudi-led coalition.

According to UN monitors, the attack violated international humanitarian law, which forbids attacks against combatants who are out of action or unable to defend themselves, the injured, and medical staff.

At the time of the attacks, the current British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was serving as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

Reportedly, the UK government authorized the shipment of air-to-air refueling equipment to Saudi Arabia last summer, when arms controls were eased and London allowed a further £1.4 billion sale of other weapons, according to Oxfam.

The Saudi-led and NATO sponsored war in Yemen has killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions more, creating the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.

Earlier this summer, human rights organizations sued French arms manufacturers for their involvement in war crimes in Yemen. According to Amnesty International, France has given the Saudi-led coalition war military weaponry worth over 8 billion euros.

Meanwhile, the US has also continued to funnel weapons into the kingdom, and has even considered a so-called ban on the sale of “offensive weapons.”