This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A Yemeni human rights group has filed a lawsuit in a Paris court against the visiting Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, accusing him of complicity in torture in their country, in what may prove an embarrassment for the French government as it welcomes its powerful guest.



A French lawyer representing the Legal Center for Rights and Development filed the suit against the crown prince, currently in France on an official visit, for his leading role in the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.



The criminal lawsuit claims Bin Salman knowingly targeted civilians.



Joseph Breham, one of the lawyers involved, said French courts had “universal jurisdiction” to investigate the case since the lawsuit was filed on Monday while the prince was on French soil. However, he acknowledged Bin Salman could not be arrested by French authorities because of his diplomatic immunity.

The Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said the lawsuit was ridiculous. He told reporters in Paris that the Houthis were to blame for stealing humanitarian aid, using human shields and reneging on peace agreements, and that “the lawsuit should be filed against them”. He insisted Saudi actions in Yemen had complied with international humanitarian law.

The legal complaint will automatically trigger the opening of a formal judicial inquiry by a French investigating judge.

“Mr Bin Salman’s immunity does not prevent judges from investigating the case nor, when he has no longer a rank as head of state or when he comes on a private visit to France, from questioning him at that time, or eventually from trying and convicting him,” Breham said.

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The lawsuit claims that “massive and indiscriminate attacks” against civilians in Yemen represented torture as defined by the United Nations’ committee against torture, as they caused “pain and widespread suffering” among the country’s people.



Press reports, experts and non-governmental organisations have documented multiple violations of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition, resulting in the deaths of many civilians, including from the bombings of homes, markets, hospitals, businesses and schools, the lawsuit said.



Bin Salman, who was defence minister when Saudi Arabia launched the war in Yemen, allegedly provided the means and instructions for these crimes of torture to be committed, the lawyer said.

Bin Salman, who arrived in France on Sunday for several days, is to have dinner with President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday evening at the Élysée Palace.

