Tripoli: A Libyan court has sentenced 12 officials to prison in connection with the devastating collapse of dams in Derna last year, which resulted in thousands of deaths, the Attorney General announced on Sunday. The officials, tasked with managing the country’s dams, received prison terms ranging from 9 to 27 years from the Court of Appeal in Derna. Four officials were acquitted.
Last September, Derna, a coastal city of 125,000 residents, was hit hard by massive floods triggered by Storm Daniel. The floods caused the failure of multiple dams, leading to widespread destruction, the loss of thousands of lives, and numerous individuals reported missing. The floods swept away buildings and devastated entire neighborhoods.
The Attorney General in Tripoli stated that three of the convicted officials were ordered to “return money obtained from illicit gains.” The statement did not disclose the names or positions of those involved. “The convicted officials have been charged with negligence, premeditated murder, and waste of public money,” a judicial source in Derna told Reuters, adding that the defendants have the right to appeal the verdicts.
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A joint report by the World Bank, United Nations, and European Union in January described the Derna flooding as a climate and environmental catastrophe, estimating that $1.8 billion is needed for reconstruction and recovery. The report attributed the dam failures to outdated design based on obsolete hydrological data, coupled with poor maintenance and governance issues exacerbated by over a decade of conflict in Libya.
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Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been divided between rival power centers in the east and west, following a NATO-backed uprising.
