Dear Friends,

Below is a statement from Faisal bin Ali Jaber, who together with his family members has brought a case against the German government for allowing the U.S. to use Ramstein Air Base for the U.S. drone killings.  On the eve of the first court hearing in Germany regarding this case, he thanks us on behalf of his family and other drone victims for our solidarity efforts.

Please if possible read his statement aloud at your events and  distribute and publish his statement as widely as you can! 

Peace,
Elsa Rassbach

Faisal bin Ali Jaber:

“Dear Friends,

I am hugely grateful for your support of my attempts to seek justice. It has been a tragic time for my family, and for Yemen. Drones have terrorised our communities, and killed so many innocent people – like my brother in law and nephew – who were men of peace. I have brought this case in the hope that the German courts – and more importantly, the German people – will hear our story, and make the changes necessary to protect the men, women and children of Yemen. We are devastated by our loss, but nothing will bring Salem and Walid back. Now, we must stand together, and look to the future. We must succeed so that other families do not have to suffer like mine have, and so that we can find a true and peaceful resolution for Yemen. Because we know, better than anyone, that you cannot drone a country into peace and stability.

This has been a difficult and long journey, and – despite the wonderful support of my legal teams at Reprieve and ECCHR – I am just one man. To know that you stand with me, and with the people of Yemen, is a huge comfort and a great inspiration. I thank you from the bottom of my heart – on behalf of myself, my family and the people of Yemen –  and hope and pray that you will keep up all your efforts to bring justice and peace to my country.”

ENDS