Fassouh Building Owners Acquitted of Charges

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The Beirut accusatory body acquitted on Wednesday the owners of the Fassouh building that collapsed on January 15.

The body had approved Beirut Examining Magistrate Ghassan Owaidat’s decision to acquit Claude and Michel Saadeh of the charges against them.

The two owners have however been released on a LL40 million and 75 million bail.

Owaidat had issued two arrest warrants against the individuals on January 23.

Twenty-seven people were killed and 12 wounded in the building collapse that took place in Beirut’s Ashrafiyeh neighborhood.

The seven-storey building collapsed in less than a minute, therefore preventing the residents from escaping.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel had said that the building’s old age was among the factors that contributed to its collapse.

The incident had raised fears of the occurrence of similar ones given the abundance of old buildings in the country and people’s ignorance of proper construction safety rules.

Despite the outcry over the Fassouh building collapse, no official authority has been established in order to monitor similar cases to prevent the repeat of the disaster.

SourceNaharnet
Comments 3
Thumb jcamerican 07 March 2012, 15:53

If they put these guys in jail, they will have no place left for the newcomers.

Default-user-icon Clint (Guest) 08 March 2012, 12:31

So who s responsible?
If it was the victims ,then they should say it.
But sure someone IS responsible no?

Default-user-icon Tarek (Guest) 08 March 2012, 12:54

The authorities are to blame. They need to put the proper laws and regulation concerning old buildings. Some people pay a $100 a year for rent in those buildings. Responsibility resides with the authorities. They are the negligent ones.