A Libyan court sentenced 12 current and former government officials to up to 27 years in prison for their participation in the collapse of two dam walls last year, during which a wave of several meters passed through the center of the coastal city of Derna, causing the death of thousands, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
The two dam walls near the city of Derna collapsed on September 11 after being overwhelmed by Cyclone Daniel, which caused heavy rains in eastern Libya.
The Derna Criminal Court convicted 12 current and former government officials of mismanagement, negligence and mistakes that contributed to the disaster, according to a statement from the country's attorney general's office.
The defendants, who were responsible for the management of the dams in the country, were sentenced to imprisonment from 9 to 27 years. Three of the defendants were ordered to return “money acquired from illegal profits”, the statement said.
The court acquitted four others.
Under Libya's judicial system, the sentence can be appealed to a higher court.
The dams were built by a Yugoslav construction company in the 1970s over Wadi Derna, a river valley that divides the city. Their purpose was to protect the city from sudden floods, which are not uncommon in the area. The dams have not been maintained for decades, despite scientists' warnings that they could break.
A 2021 report by a state audit agency found that the two dams were not being maintained, despite more than $2 million being allocated in 2012 and 2013 for that purpose.
The World Health Organization has reported more than 4,000 flood-related deaths, but the head of the Libyan Red Crescent previously put the death toll at 11,300. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said at least 9,000 are missing in addition to the recorded deaths.