- Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad Bin Salman to visit the UK from 07 March
- UK has licensed £4.6 billion worth of arms to Saudi regime since it began bombing Yemen in March 2015
- Protest to take place from 5pm outside Downing Street on March 07
The government has confirmed that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman, will visit the UK between 07-09 March.
A protest will take place outside Downing Street from 5pm on March 07. The protest has been called by a coalition of groups. They include: Organisation for Human Rights in the UK, Bahrain Institute for Rights & Democracy, Bahrain Opposition Bloc, Campaign Against Arms Trade, Global Justice Now, Human Rights for Yemen, Iraqi Democrats, Sheba for Democracy and Human Rights, Stop the War Coalition and War on Want.
The Crown Prince has been the architect of the Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen, which has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Despite the devastation, the UK government has continued to arm and support the Saudi regime.
UK government stats, compiled by Campaign Against Arms Trade, show that since the bombardment began in 2015, the UK has licensed £4.6 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, including:
- £2.7 billion worth of ML10 licences (Aircraft, helicopters, drones)
- £1.9 billion worth of ML4 licences (Grenades, bombs, missiles, countermeasures)
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said:
The Crown Prince should never have been invited to Downing Street: he leads a regime with an appalling human rights record and has overseen the destruction of Yemen.
The UK has armed and supported the terrible war since day one, and there is no doubt that arms sales will be top of the agenda next week. Theresa May is putting the interests of arms dealers above the rights of Yemeni people.”
You can find out more about the planned protest on the Facebook page.
ENDS
For further information please contact Andrew at media(at)caat·org·uk or call 020 7281 0297.
