Riyadh court to retry those acquitted in Jeddah floods case

Adnan Al-Shabrawi Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Supreme Administrative Appeals Court in Riyadh quashed the verdicts of lower courts in Jeddah to acquit a number of defendants in the Jeddah flood disaster. The court has prepared a list of those who had been acquitted two years ago and asked them to be present before the court for retrial. The acquitted included several prominent figures, including senior municipality officials. Well informed sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that a new judicial circuit has been constituted at the Riyadh Court for the retrial. The court’s decision came after accepting a plea from the public prosecutor of the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution. The Bureau approached the court challenging the verdicts of the lower administrative courts to acquit some of the leading figures accused of having a role in turning the floods of 2009 into a catastrophe. The floods killed more than 120 people and destroyed more than 7,000 vehicles and damaged around 11,900 properties. There were 332 accused in the flood related cases filed in Jeddah courts. The charges against the accused included corruption in implementing municipal projects, encroachments in flood passages, accepting bribery, forgery of documents, cheating the municipality, money laundering, and misusing official position and interference. The charges also included causing deaths, and destruction of private and public properties. Those accused in floods disaster included former officials who worked in service sectors, managers in companies and construction firms, businessmen and engineers, other employees and brokers. Most of the cases were examined by the Administrative Court of Appeal and Court of Grievances in Jeddah. Investigators had probed 300 people and 30 companies. The Jeddah floods prompted the Makkah governorate to carry out 14 emergency projects to deal with floods in the city. In addition, the government implemented a number of long term projects including five dams, expansion of the existing canals in the northern, southern and eastern parts of Jeddah and the construction of a new canal along King Abdulaziz International Airport to contain the floods in the city.