Libya: 12 officials jailed over deadly floods in Derna
The Attorney General announced in Tripoli that a Libyan court has jailed 12 officials over the mismanagement of dams that collapsed during floods in Derna last year, killing thousands, reported Middle East Monitor and Asharq al-Awsat on July 29th.
The sentences handed down to the officials ranged between 9 and 27 years in prison by the Court of Appeal in Derna, with four officials being acquitted.
The coastal city of Derna, holding a population of 125,000, sustained severe damage due to massive floods caused by Storm Daniel last year in September.
The government declared areas impacted by the floods’ ‘disaster zones’ with entire neighbourhoods and buildings destroyed by powerful waves released by the multiple burst dams.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that 11,300 were dead and another 10,100 were missing in Derna as a result of the natural disaster. Amnesty International found that just under 45,000 people were displaced as a result.
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The Attorney General ordered three of the unnamed defendants to “return money obtained from illicit gains.”
A judicial source in Derna told Reuters that the “convicted officials have been charged with negligence, premeditated murder and waste of public money”, with the accused still having their right to appeal against their verdicts.
A collaborative report by the World Bank, United Nations, and European Union found that the dams’ collapse was partly due to the structures’ design based on outdated hydrological information and partly due to inadequate maintenance and neglect from the government embroiled in conflict for over a decade.
An estimated $1.8 billion fund was needed for the reconstruction and recovery of Derna following the flash flooding, which constituted a climate and environmental catastrophe.
Middle East Monitor / Asharq al-Awsat / Reuters and agencies
