The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in Germany's favor in the case of the 2009 Bundeswehr airstrike in Afghanistan that killed up to 90 Afghan civilians. Reported by The New York Times.
A panel of 17 judges from across Europe unanimously ruled that the German investigation into the airstrike did not violate the European Convention on Human Rights.
As a result of the investigation by the German side, it turned out that the events claimed the lives of 90 peaceful Afghans. At the time the blow was struck, the country was widely criticized by its partners in Afghanistan. Against the backdrop of what happened, Germany plunged into a fierce debate about the role of its armed forces in peacetime
In 2012, the relatives of the victims of the airstrike sued the country, demanding compensation. However, in 2018, the German Supreme Civil Court ruled that under international law, the state is not obliged to pay compensation to individuals.
The incident, which became the reason for the lawsuits, took place in September 2009 in the Afghan province of Kunduz. Bundeswehr Colonel Georg Klein gave an order according to which American bombers blew up two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban. The Bundeswehr feared militants would use fuel trucks as a bomb on wheels in an attack on a nearby German military base.
However, the military did not take into account that local residents ran to the fuel trucks to drain the fuel. As a result, according to the lawyer Popal, 137 people were killed in the airstrike. NATO previously reported 142 deaths and injuries.
In lawsuits against Germany, it is alleged that Colonel Klein knew about a large concentration of civilians near the fuel tankers and, despite this, ordered the bombing. Thus, he violated international law, and Berlin must pay for this, lawyers say. However, Klein's guilt was never officially proven. Germany paid 430 thousand dollars to the relatives of those killed back in 2010, but transferred this money as material assistance, not compensation, since it did not admit guilt.
