Middle East: Three refugees are pursuing legal action against the UAE through the High Court in England saying that the it funded war crimes by Daesh terrorists in the Syrian war in a landmark case in British legal history, a British daily newspaper reported.

According to the Daily Mail, the men, who are from Syria but are now asylum seekers in the UK, claim Arab officials financed human rights abuses in the war-torn country in 2015.

They said they saw severe torture, vicious beatings and property destruction committed by jihadists they say were armed by the Gulf state.

One claimant testified 'the smell of corpses and death spread in my beloved town, and there was no life left in it'.

The claim would be the first of its kind as they seek to blow apart the use of the sovereign immunity defence in cases involving human rights abuses, such as torture.

If successful, it would open the floodgates for people to hold foreign state sponsors of militant and terror groups to account through UK courts, the newspaper added. 

The UAE entered the fray in 2014 with the US-led coalition against Daesh but later broke off to join the Russian intervention in the civil war in 2015.

The London-based refugees - Mohamad Damen Alsulaiman, Ahmad Sharaf and Mohamed al Saeid - got their lawyers to launch a pre-action protocol against the UAE, paving the way for court proceedings.

In it they accused the country of funding jihadists during the chaotic Syrian civil war in 2015 and claimed they saw UAE-made weapons, equipment and aid packages.

According to the report, they told their legal team Ai Law to prepare papers for a case in the High Court to strike down the sovereign immunity defence for alleged human rights abuse cases.

Tom Ellis from Ai law said: "We have been approached by three Syrian refugees who want to sue key individuals and institutions from the UAE, which they allege were complicit in their torture and illegal treatment."

"These actions forced them too flee their homes and families, travel thousands of miles, before finally finding shelter in the UK."

"The actions, as described in compelling testimony, would amount to a clear violation of Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, namely that 'No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment'."

Ellis added: "To this end, Ai Law have been instructed to bring this landmark claim to Court, and whilst there are certain legal challenges to overcome if successful would send out a clear message that governments, or any state actor that if you are guilty of torture or other human rights violations you will be held to account."

Jamal al Attar from the International Federation of Human Rights said: "The testimonies of the Syrian refugees have shaken me to my core."

"We all know the civil war in Syria has been an abject societal failure, but the international community cannot ignore the UAE's direct involvement in financially supporting the perpetrators of war crimes."

"The legal action in London will set a precedent whereby it will incriminate those governments even if ''symbolically'' and will prohibit future involvements which will deteriorate the Middle East."

Tom Charles, Director of The Tactics Institute for Security and Counter Terrorism, added: "Despite Biden's warning in 2014 and some attempts to legislate against it, the UAE remains a perfect platform to channel illegal funds due to jurisdictional complexity, which includes two financial free zones and 29 commercial free zones, and proximity to conflict zones."