German court to rule on claim against Berlin over US strikes in Yemen

BERLIN (AFP): Germany’s constitutional court will rule Tuesday in a years-long legal saga over whether Berlin can be held partly responsible for US drone attacks on Yemen due to signals sent through the Ramstein air base.

The case is being brought by two Yemeni men, Ahmed and Khalid bin Ali Jaber, who lost members of their family in a US drone strike on the village of Khashamir in 2012.

The survivors say they were there for a wedding of a male family member and eating dinner when they heard the buzz of a drone and then the boom of missile attacks that claimed multiple lives.

A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could have groundbreaking implications regarding Germany’s responsibility toward third countries in international conflicts.

The two men, supported by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), argue that Germany is partly responsible for the attack because the strike was aided by signals relayed from the Ramstein base in the west of the country.

“Without the data that flows through Ramstein, the US cannot fly its combat drones in Yemen,” according to the ECCHR.

“The German government must put an end to the use of this base — otherwise the government is making itself complicit in the deaths of innocent civilians,” said Andreas Schueller, program director for international crimes at the NGO.

The plaintiffs first took their case to court in 2014, arguing that Germany had a responsibility to ensure the US military was respecting international law in using the Ramstein base.

The case was initially thrown out, before the higher administrative court in Muenster ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in 2019.

However, the government appealed and a higher court overturned the decision in 2020, arguing that German diplomatic efforts were enough to ensure Washington was adhering to international law.

In a hearing scheduled for 0800 GMT, the constitutional court must now decide what conditions are necessary for those affected abroad to sue the German state for the protection of their right to life, according to the ECCHR.

This includes whether data transmission alone is enough of a connection to German territory for Germany to be held responsible.

Ahead of the latest proceedings, which opened in December 2024, the German defense ministry said Berlin was “in an ongoing and trusting dialogue” with the United States about its activities at Ramstein.

The government has repeatedly obtained assurances that drones are not launched, controlled or commanded from Germany and that US forces are acting lawfully, the ministry said.