The Attorney General’s office has announced that investigations are currently underway to understand the reasons behind the collapse of the Wadi Derna dams. These investigations are based on engineering reports that analyze the form of their collapse.
Public lawsuits have been filed against those who were responsible for managing the dams. The Attorney General’s office has clarified that measures to prove incidents of death, search for the missing, and assess flood losses are proceeding at a regular pace.
In a significant development, the Attorney General announced the initiation of a criminal lawsuit against 16 officials responsible for managing the country’s dam facility. This lawsuit is part of the ongoing investigations into the incident of the Derna dams’ collapse.
The Public Prosecution ordered the imprisonment of several officials, including the Dean of Derna Municipality, the current and former head of the Water Resources Authority, and others accused in this incident.
Charges have been directed at these officials for mismanagement of administrative and financial tasks. Their errors contributed to the disaster, and their negligence in taking precautionary measures from disasters led to economic losses for the country.
The Dean of Derna Municipality has been charged with misuse of power and deviation from his obligations in managing funds allocated for rebuilding and developing the city.
The Attorney General’s office added that further investigations are being requested against other officials responsible for flooding Derna city and others who mismanaged its reconstruction project.
In 2014, officials from Water Resources Management deliberately paid amounts to a foreign construction company contracted for dam maintenance. However, there was a lack of proportionality between payments it collected with its completed works and proof of its failure to fulfill obligations arising from the contract.
The Attorney General had announced in a special meeting about its investigations and work in Derna, Benghazi, and Tripoli offices. The investigations will reach officials and will extend to incidents going back 20 years ago.
The Attorney General called on executive authorities in all regions of Libya to provide a suitable climate for prosecution and implement its decisions. This ensures speed in ending investigations and reaching court to hold officials accountable. This is aimed at achieving public and private deterrence for perpetrators.
