Denmark sued over arms exports to Israel, for complicity in genocide. A lawsuit was filed against the national police and the foreign ministry by four humanitarian organisations on Tuesday in Copenhagen.
“Denmark should not be sending weapons to Israel when there is a reasonable suspicion that it is committing war crimes in Gaza,” Tim Whyte, the secretary general of Action Aid Denmark, one of the organisations behind the lawsuit, said in a statement.
“We need to get the court’s word on Denmark’s responsibility,”
Tim Whyte, the secretary general of Action Aid Denmark
Violations of international law
Investigative media Danwatch in November revealed that Israel’s F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma.
The three other organisations behind the legal action were the Danish branches of Amnesty International, Oxfam and Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq.
Denmark has joined both the UN Arms Trade Treaty and the EU Common Rules for Arms Exports, which obliges Denmark to ensure that exports of weapons and military equipment from Danish companies do not risk contributing to violations of international law.
European Courts rule to stop aiding Israeli genocide
The lawsuit came almost a month after a Dutch court ordered the Netherlands to stop exporting F-35 parts to Israel. Many countries are following suit, with horrific images and videos showing the brutality and extent of Israels actions towards the people of Gaza.
It is something they can not stomach anymore, the people are waking up and demanding action. No more impunity for Israel. And in the EU that is making an impact as European Courts rule to stop aiding Israeli genocide.
In mid-February, a Dutch appeals court judge ruled that there was “a clear risk that serious violations of humanitarian law of war are committed in the Gaza Strip with Israel’s F-35 fighter planes.”
Several similar lawsuits are underway in other countries, including in Canada where the foreign and justice ministers have been targeted.
British High Court rejects petition to stop supplying Israel
London’s High Court last month rejected a similar petition to suspend British arms exports to Israel.
Amnesty International Denmark, Oxfam Denmark, ActionAid Denmark and Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq said in a joint statement they would bring the case against Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Police, which approves Danish sales of weapons and military equipment.
Denmark sued over arms exports to Israel
“We feel that we are completely within the lines, the rules of the game that apply,” Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters. The National Police declined immediate comment without having seen details of the lawsuit.
Legal firm Kontra Advokater, who will be representing the NGOs, said it would file the lawsuit to a Copenhagen district court within the next three weeks.
“For five months we have been talking about a potential genocide in Gaza, but we have not seen politicians take action,” Tim Whyte, secretary general of ActionAid Denmark, said.
Legal firm Kontra Advokater
Danish Prime Minister makes strongest call yet for ceasefire in Gaza
“Today I strongly call for a humanitarian ceasefire, as Denmark has voted for in the UN,” she said, following a dire new report on ground conditions in Gaza from WHO.
Mette Frederiksen PM of Denmark
Some analysts have suggested she is reacting to the mood of the nation, others suggest it is hypocritical act and just lip service.
The country is following a trend sweeping through European nations, who initially were unconditionally supportive of the Netanyahu regime in Israel.
It is becoming apparent the Israeli genocide in palestine can no longer be tolerated even in pro-Israel countries and, now, as Denmark sued over arms exports to Israel the PM is going to have to make drastic changes in policy.
