Updated

A court in Germany is hearing a case brought by three Yemeni men who lost two relatives in a U.S. drone strike.

The men, who weren't in court Wednesday, accuse the German government of letting the United States use an air base in Germany for lethal drone strikes.

The men, who are being represented by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and rights group Reprieve, want Germany to accept legal and political responsibility for the strikes and stop the U.S. from using the Ramstein base.

Reprieve's legal director, Kat Craig, says there's strong evidence Ramstein is used to relay flight control data from pilots in the United States to drones in the Mideast.

The German government denies U.S. air bases in Germany are used for extrajudicial killings.