Anti-arms trade activists barred from entering UK-Saudi weapons court case

Anti-arms trade campaigners challenging the UK's weapons sales to Saudi Arabia were shut out of London's High Court on Thursday, as legal proceedings over the matter were closed to the public.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) said their lawyers and representatives were denied access to the court as the case entered closed sessions from Wednesday.

CAAT took the UK government to court to block the arms sales, arguing that the weapons have been used by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, where multiple breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) have taken place.

"It is alarming that there appears to be so much closed evidence that we are not allowed to see, including even the figure for the 'small number' of possible IHL violations the government claims to have identified," Emily Apple, spokesperson for CAAT, said in a statement.

"This means we are not able to analyse what's being said and the people in Yemen are prevented from knowing exactly how this government justifies the arms sales that have devastated their lives. This is not justice."

On the last day of open hearings, government lawyer Sir James Eadie argued that “anxious scrutiny” of harm to civilians was not required, as Yemenis do not fall under British jurisdiction.

Eadie also questioned the expertise of the UN panel that concluded that IHL violations had taken place.

CAAT slammed Eadie's remarks as "horrific", saying the UN panel includes IHL experts, including former senior military advisor Professor Charles Garraway.

"His comments also made it clear that the UK government trusts the Saudi government more than it does eminent UN experts and renowned human rights organisations collating evidence on the ground," she said.

"It's clear that the government is picking and choosing how it records violations of IHL in order to continue lining the pockets of arms dealers."

Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen's war in March 2015, beginning an aerial bombing campaign against Houthi rebels, who had captured the Yemeni capital Sanaa the previous year.

Close to 9,000 civilians have been killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led military coalition since then, which has struck key infrastructure, hospitals, weddings and schools in Yemen.

The UK has sold more than £23 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the war, according to CAAT.

The High Court will issue its verdict on CAAT's legal challenge within six months.