Alwaght- Amnesty International, in a letter to Spain’s King, called on Felipe VI to prevent the sale of five warships to Saudi Arabia, warning that the Arab regime could use them to commit “serious violations of international humanitarian law” against the neighboring Yemen.
“They (Saudis) are bombing hospitals, public schools, health centers, among other infrastructure full of people,” the UK-based rights group's director for Spain, Esteban Beltran, said in a video posted on Twitter on Friday, a day before the Spanish king's first state visit to the oil-rich kingdom.
Beltran also called on the Spanish king to use his influence on Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who came to power in January last year after the death of his half-brother Abdullah, to stop the kingdom's 20-month-long "air attacks on civilians in Yemen.”
Yemen has been under Saudi attacks since March 2015 in an attempt to bring back the former Yemeni government to power and undermine the Ansarullah movement.
More than 10,000 Yemenis have been killed since the start of the military campaign, according to the UN.
Spain’s Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis and Public Works Minister Inigo de la Serna will also accompany the Spanish king on his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia at Salman's invitation.
Spain's King was invited to visit by Saudi Arabia's King Salman.
Top-selling Spanish daily newspaper El Pais reported last week that "one of the imperatives of the visit" is the signing of a contract with Spanish ship builder Navantia to build five Avante 2200 corvette patrol vessels for the Saudi navy for over two billion euros ($2.2 billion).
This would be "the biggest contract every signed" by the state-owned firm and would likely guarantee jobs for 2,000 people for five years, the newspaper added.
