A judicial source confirmed in an exclusive statement to Reuters that the Benghazi Court of Appeal witnessed today, Sunday, the convening of the first sessions of the retrial of twelve defendants in the Derna Valley dams collapse case.
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that the retrial sessions for the defendants came after the Supreme Court issued a decision accepting the appeal filed against the rulings issued by the Derna Court of Appeal on July 28, 2024.
The source indicated that the first retrial session ended with the Benghazi Court of Appeal’s decision to postpone consideration of the case until the thirtieth of next November, with the continued detention of the defendants.
It is noted that the sentences issued by the Derna Court of Appeal against the defendants included penalties ranging between nine and twenty-seven years and financial fines for twelve defendants, while acquitting four others of the charges against them.
The Attorney General, Counselor Al-Siddiq Al-Sour, had held a press conference in Tripoli before the issuance of the Derna Court of Appeal rulings, specifically in January 2024, in which he explained that the total number of registered deaths resulting from the collapse and flooding of the Derna dams reached (4,540) people, most of whom were Libyans including foreigners. He confirmed that investigations into the incident proved with evidence the existence of negligence in the maintenance of the Derna dams and negligence regarding proposals to construct a third dam.