European court clears Germany over Kunduz airstrike

BERLIN (AA) – Germany committed no violation when it closed investigations into a lethal airstrike in Afghanistan ordered by a German commander of NATO forces, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday.

More than 100 civilians were killed or injured in the deadly airstrike in Kunduz in 2009, but German authorities closed the investigation in 2010 without any criminal charges.

Col. Georg Klein, who ordered the bombing, was not prosecuted under military law and promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 2013.

Abdul Hanan, an Afghan national who lost two sons in the bombing, brought the case before the ECHR, saying German authorities failed to conduct a proper probe and denied him the right to an effective appeal.

The court, however, ruled that German authorities did not violate the European Convention on Human Rights while investigating the deadly airstrike.

“The Court has found that the investigation conducted by the German authorities into the death of the applicant’s sons fulfilled the obligation to conduct an effective investigation under the Convention and, thus, there has been no violation of Article 2 (right to life),” the Strasbourg-based court said in a statement.

The ruling noted that German prosecutors found that Klein had not incurred criminal liability mainly because he was convinced while ordering the strike that no civilians were present in the area.

“Colonel K. had believed that the armed Taliban fighters who had hijacked the two fuel tankers were members of an organised armed group that was party to the armed conflict and were thus legitimate military targets,” read the statement.

The judges said the German parliament’s investigation into the airstrike “had ensured a high level of public scrutiny” of the case.

Andreas Schueller, program director of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), denounced the court’s ruling.

“Disappointing decision on Kunduz airstrike, jurisdictional link found, but German investigation despite flaws, secrecy, and gaps not found in violation of European Convention,” he said on Twitter.

The ECCHR, which provided legal assistance to Hanan, has repeatedly criticized German authorities for “prematurely” closing the investigation into the deadly airstrike and failing to follow international human rights standards.

According to the group, the German government has neither compensated nor apologized to the airstrike survivors or the bereaved.