Berlin: A German court on Tuesday annulled a de facto export ban that had prevented arms manufacturer Rheinmetall from exporting armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, saying German authorities had not followed correct procedures.
The court ruled that authorities had failed to follow proper procedures in revoking a previously issued licence allowing the sale of 110 vehicles to Saudi Arabia, 10 of which had already been sent by the end of last October.
The court said the manner in which the export licence had been revoked indicated that authorities were trying to avoid being forced to pay compensation.
A spokeswoman for the federal economy ministry, which is in charge of arms export licences, said the government would carefully examine the ruling, which it can appeal.