- Licences included fighter jets, military vehicles and targeting equipment
- 62% of UK adults oppose arms sales to Saudi regime, with only 16% supporting
The sentencing of Karl Andree, 74, to 350 lashes is yet another reminder of the terrible human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. Recent months have also seen a focus on blogger Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to ten years in prison and 500 lashes, and Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who has been condemned to execution for protesting against the government.
Despite these high profile abuses, the UK government invited the Saudi military to the DSEI arms fair in London last month.
Between May 2010 – March 2015 the Coalition government licensed almost £4 billion of arms to the regime. These licences included fighter jets, tear gas military vehicles and targeting equipment.
Research by Opinium LLP has found that 62% of UK adults oppose arms sales to Saudi Arabia, with only 16% supporting them.
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said: “The Saudi authorities are lashing and executing opponents, locking up bloggers and bombing civilians in Yemen. The human rights situation is dire and the UK government has repeatedly failed to say or do anything about it.”
“UK weapons have been central to the bombardment of Yemen, with UK fighter jets being used and bombs earmarked for the RAF having been transferred to Saudi Arabia to aid the bombing.”
Andrew continued: “There must be an immediate embargo on all arms sales to the regime, and an end to the uncritical political support they are given. How many more people will be tortured and killed before the UK government finally says enough is enough?”
Earlier this month, Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office, admitted that human rights no longer have the “profile” within his department that they had “in the past.”
