Court to rule on Danish arms sales to Israel case

Court to rule on Danish arms sales to Israel case
by AFP Staff Writers
Copenhagen (AFP) April 11, 2025

A Copenhagen court is to rule Friday whether a lawsuit filed by four humanitarian organisations accusing Denmark of violating international law by exporting weapons to Israel is admissible in court.

The Palestinian human rights association Al-Haq, Amnesty International, Oxfam and Action Aid Denmark filed the lawsuit against the Danish foreign ministry and national police last year.

They said in a statement there was a risk that "Danish military materiel was being used to commit serious crimes against civilians in Gaza".

The associations targeted the foreign ministry in their lawsuit since it "determines whether there is a risk that weapons and weapons components could be used to violate human rights" and the police because it was the authority responsible for issuing export licences.

Denmark's Eastern High Court is expected to announce its decision around 10:00 am (0800 GMT).

"We are the biggest human rights organisation in the world and our mandate is clearly to protect human rights," the secretary general of the Danish branch of Amnesty International, Vibe Klarup, said in a statement.

Danish media outlets Danwatch and Information revealed in 2023 that Israel's F-35s were equipped with parts made by the Danish group Terma.

"Amnesty International has been working for several years to rally support for the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to ensure that states' arms trading is not used to commit human rights violations," said Klarup.

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen argued in October that Denmark's participation in the F-35 programme was "crucial for our security and our relations with our main allies".

Last year, Amnesty International accused Israel of "committing genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Danish lawsuit was filed in March 2024, on the heels of a similar suit filed in the Netherlands by a coalition of humanitarian organisations.

A Dutch court in December rejected demands by pro-Palestinian groups for a total ban on exporting goods that can be used for military means to Israel.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the overall death toll has reached 50,846 since the war with Israel began on October 7, 2023, a figure the UN has deemed reliable.

Hamas' unprecedented assault on Israel resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.