British PM faces legal challenge over Syria drone attack

A legal proceeding has been initiated against British Prime Minister, David Cameron, over his decision to target Daesh or ISIL terrorists in Syria.

Green party lawmakers, Caroline Lucas and Jenny Jones, are working with human rights charity Reprieve to make the first step toward a judicial review to the attack on the Syrian soil. That after Cameron earlier this month revealed that British forces killed three Daesh terrorists, including two young Britons, in the northern Syrian city of Raqqah in a drone airstrike.

The August 21 airstrike killed 21-year-old Reyaad Khan from the city of Cardiff, 26-year-old Ruhul Amin from Aberdeen and another terrorist who was not from Britain.

The attack went ahead despite parliament voting against strikes in 2013. The British premier justified the drone attack saying those killed were plotting against the UK and that they could not be eliminated by any other means.

"The strike will not eradicate the ISIL terrorists which everybody would like to happen but what it will do is to increase their numbers. These drone strikes go completely against the spirit of the decision taken by parliament. As many commentators believe today that if you kill one [terrorist] in this way, it leads to recruitment surge. So I think it’s illegal, undemocratic and counter-productive,” John Rees, a London-based analyst and Stop the War Coalition activist told Press TV.

“The government, of course, has the right in law but democratically and politically its completely unacceptable especially after the August 2013 vote that specifically rejected taking military operation in Syria. So the government is acting entirely against the wishes of parliament and I believe is against the wishes of the people of this country”, Rees added.    

In a letter to the defense secretary and attorney general, lawyers for the Green politicians has challenged the government’s stance and say the attack were illegal under both domestic and international law. It argues the government either failed to formulate a “targeted killing policy” or failed to publish it.

“The Raqqah strike, and the intention of the government to pre-authorize targeted killings in the future in countries where the UK is not at war, is of concern to the claimants and many others,” they wrote.

The letter also criticizes Cameron for saying that the parliament was not consulted in advance because his government reserves the right to take action without prior approval when there is a "critical" British interest at stake or when a "humanitarian catastrophe" is imminent and can be averted.

Britain is carrying out airstrikes against Takfiri terrorists in Iraq but media later revealed that the UK government has been secretly allowing its military pilots to also take part in US-led bombings in Syria. The human rights group, Reprieve, revealed that about 20 UK personnel have been embedded with American and Canadian forces to conduct strikes in Syria.

The current Tory government is paving the way for a new parliament vote on military intervention in Syria. However, new leader of Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn has said: “There has to be a legal basis for what’s going on. This is war without parliamentary approval. And, in fact, parliament specifically said no to this war in September 2013.”

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