也门战争罪行的受害者要求美国当局根据他们所说的在阿拉伯联合酋长国(阿联酋)指挥下的美国雇佣军犯罪的“令人信服的证据”采取行动。
周三，代表阿卜杜拉·苏莱曼·阿卜杜拉·道巴拉和萨拉赫·穆斯勒姆·萨利姆的律师在伦敦举行新闻发布会，宣布他们已经提交了诉状，并收集了指控犯罪的证据。
该小组敦促美国、英国和土耳其当局展开调查，甚至逮捕被指控的美国雇佣军或据称指挥他们的阿联酋官员。
这些律师没有透露涉案人员的身份，但表示，阿联酋官员是政府和国防部的“高级官员”，而至少一些涉案的美国人曾在矛行动小组工作过。
起诉书称，这些被告居住在美国或阿联酋，但众所周知，他们经常去英国。法律小组已经向美国和土耳其司法部以及英国大都会警察局提交了证据。
来文称，根据普遍管辖权原则，责任人可以被拘留，该原则允许各国调查或起诉被指控犯有战争罪的人，无论其国籍或事件发生在何处。
新闻周刊已经联系了阿联酋驻华盛顿特区和伦敦的大使馆，以及阿联酋外交部，要求对这些指控发表评论。美国司法部拒绝置评。
道巴拉和萨利姆都声称成为目标，因为他们隶属于伊斯兰党，该党是穆斯林兄弟会组织的也门分支，该组织是阿拉伯联合酋长国的一个指定恐怖团体。塞勒姆的抱怨与他的兄弟——贾米尔·穆斯林塞勒姆·巴蒂斯有关，后者于2019年在塞恩市被暗杀。
道巴拉在2015年亚丁岛总部的炸弹袭击中幸免于难。根据2018年BuzzFeed的一份报告，为长矛组织工作的美国雇佣军已经承认对此次行动负责。
这张档案照片显示的是2019年1月22日，在也门港口城市荷台达，由沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国支持的也门军事联盟的士兵。
据报道，这些雇佣兵是由巴勒斯坦特工穆罕默德·达赫兰雇佣的，起诉书称他是阿联酋王储穆罕默德·本·扎耶德·阿勒纳哈扬的“关键顾问”。
提交的材料称，“阿联酋武装部队的穿制服的军官向他们提供了命令——以暗杀名单的形式——以及武器”。这些雇佣军随后“被阿联酋空军空运到也门，并由一名穿制服的军官向他们简要介绍了他们的任务和命令。”
也门还指控阿联酋及其来自美国和哥伦比亚等国的外国雇佣军对囚犯进行任意拘留、“系统”虐待和酷刑。
"我不明白为什么各州没有调查这些明目张胆的犯罪行为。"代表原告的斯托克怀特律师事务所国际法主管哈坎·卡穆兹说。他补充说，重要的是采取行动，反对那些希望“隐藏自己的面孔”的国家越来越“流行”地使用雇佣军。
美国律师海迪·迪克斯塔尔(Haydee Dijkstal)表示，美国政府有权调查和起诉任何涉嫌在国外犯有战争罪的美国人。“有罪不罚是一个严重的问题，”她解释道。“我们正在做的是要求美国政府采取严肃的步骤展开调查。”
这篇文章已经更新，包括了司法部的回应。
YEMENIS DEMAND U.S. ARREST AMERICAN MERCENARIES ACCUSED OF 'BLATANT' WAR CRIMES
Victims of alleged war crimes in Yemen have demanded that American authorities act on what they say is "compelling evidence" of offenses by American mercenaries acting under the direction of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On Wednesday, lawyers representing Abdullah Suliman Abdullah Daubalah and Salah Muslem Salem held a press conference in London to announce they had filed a complaint along with evidence they had collected of the alleged crimes.
The team urged U.S., British and Turkish authorities to open investigations and even arrest accused American mercenaries or the UAE officials said to have directed them.
The lawyers did not identify those involved, but said the UAE officials were "high ranking officials" in the government and ministry of defense, while at least some of the Americans involved have worked for the Spear Operations Group.
Those accused live in either the U.S. or the UAE but are known to travel to the U.K. regularly, the complaint said. The legal team has submitted its evidence to the U.S. and Turkish justice ministries and Britain's Metropolitan Police.
The submission says that those responsible can be detained under the principle of Universal Jurisdiction, which allows nations to investigate or prosecute those accused of war crimes regardless of their nationality or where the incidents occurred.
Newsweek has contacted the UAE embassies in Washington, D.C. and London, and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request comment on the allegations. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.
Both Daubalah and Salem claim to have been targeted because of their affiliation to the Al-Islah Party, the Yemeni affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood organization which is a designated terrorist group in the UAE. Salem's complaint relates to his brother—Jameel Moslem Salem Batis—who was assassinated in the city of Seiyun in 2019.
Daubalah survived a bomb attack on Islah's headquarters in Aden in 2015. According to a 2018 BuzzFeed report, American mercenaries working for the Spear group have admitted responsibility for the operation.
This file photo shows soldiers with a military coalition in Yemen backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the port city of Hodeida, Yemen, on January 22, 2019.
The mercenaries were reportedly hired by Palestinian operative Mohammed Dahlan, who the complaint says is a "key advisor" to UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
They were "supplied their orders—in the form of a hit list—as well as weaponry, by uniformed military officers of the UAE Armed Forces," the submission reads. The mercenaries were then "flown into Yemen by the UAE Air Force and briefed about their mission and orders by a uniformed officer."
The Yemenis also allege that the UAE and its foreign mercenaries from nations including the U.S. and Colombia engaged in arbitrary detention, "systematic" abuse and torture of prisoners.
"I cannot fathom why the states have not investigated these blatant criminal acts." said Hakan Camuz, the head of International Law at the Stoke White legal firm representing the complainants. He added it is important to act against the increasingly "popular" use of mercenaries by nations that wish to "hide their faces."
Haydee Dijkstal, a U.S. barrister, said the U.S. government has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute any Americans suspected of war crimes abroad. "There's a serious issue of impunity," she explained. "What we are doing is asking the U.S. government to take serious steps to initiate an investigation."
This article has been updated to include a response from the Department of Justice.
