German chancellor Angela Merkel’s allied government has on Thursday extended an official ban on weapons exports by six months to Saudi Arabia, which was instituted last month in response to US journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in Saudi consulate of Istanbul on October 2, 2018.
According to Dawn news reports, though, the arms export ban has faced several oppositions from the European Union and within the German government but has received backing from the rights groups.
In an official statement, government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said, ‘The order to halt authorised weapons exports to Saudi Arabia is extended by six months from March 31 to September 30, 2019.”
Berlin has responded to Khashoggi’s killing by declaring a cease on weapon supplies and sales to Saudi Arabi and others involved in the war in Yemen.
Since then, it has faced strong criticism from the EU partners as they said the ban impacted their joint defence projects such as the Tornado jets and Eurofighters.
Though Britain and France have urged the German government for ban relief, human rights groups have argued that the imposed ban should remain at the place, that has been backed by junior partners to Merkel’s conservative CSU/CDU, centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
SPD deputy head Ralf Stegner told a public TV: “We oppose defence exports to dictatorships and into active conflict zones.”
Media group RND said that if the Saudi export stop was extended by six months, the German state could buy the ships for its navy, customs service and federal police.