Lawsuits over kunduz air strike dismissed

The attack on two tanker trucks hijacked by taliban fighters had been ordered by bundeswehr commander georg klein in september 2009. About 100 people were killed, including many civilians.

In the first civil case of its kind, the bonn regional court dismissed the claims as unfounded. Colonel klein was "not accused of any culpable breach of official duties" with regard to the sparing of civilians. Only in the case of such a death had a claim for liability on the part of the federal republic of germany arisen, said judge heinz sonnenberger.

With the verdict, the trial ended without further evidence and klein no longer has to testify as a witness either. This is what the plaintiffs’ attorneys had requested. Lawyer karim popal announced that he would appeal the decision. It had to be reviewed by the OLG koln as the court of last instance.

Klein had been in the kundus field camp together with an air traffic control officer and had reassured himself a total of seven times with an informant of the military near the tanker trucks that there had been "insurgents" (taliban) and no civilians there.

In addition, there was an acute risk of a possible taliban attack on the bundeswehr field camp about seven kilometers away. The ordered strike by two U.S. Fighter jets was for a "military target" – the taliban and the tankers, they said. Only official liability would have been possible if klein had had knowledge of civilians being present.

The court found the verdict "very difficult," emphasized judge sonnenberger. It had to base its decision not on feelings, "but on law and order, even if we do not do justice to the victims". It also did not matter that it became known afterwards that civilians had also been near the tankers. The court itself had not been able to judge this on the basis of the infrared images from the U.S. Fighter planes – which had also been transmitted small – because only "black dots" were to be seen.

The federal republic of germany, represented by the ministry of defense, had classified the lawsuit as inadmissible because the german armed forces in afghanistan were integrated into NATO structures. This question remained unanswered by the court. The federal government was also unwilling to reach a court settlement. According to information from the defense ministry, 5000 U.S. Dollars (about 3800 euros) each have already been paid 90 times to victim families as humanitarian aid – a total of about 350,000 euros.

In the bonn trial, a father of two sons allegedly killed in the bombing had demanded 40,000 euros from the federal republic. A widow and mother of six children who, according to their lawyers, lost their father and breadwinner, sued for a maintenance payment of 50,000 euros. Both plaintiffs, who also have to bear the costs of the proceedings, did not appear for any day of the trial.