Supreme Court Upholds Verdict Against Saudi Bin Laden Group in Makkah Crane Collapse Case

Jeddah: The Supreme Court has upheld the lower court verdict against the construction company Saudi Bin Laden Group and the officials who failed to perform properly in the case of the collapse of the crane in the Makkah Masjid al-Haram. Binladin company should pay two crore Riyal compensation. Eight guilty officers were also sentenced to imprisonment. With this, the Supreme Court closed the case.

The Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the Makkah Criminal Appeal Court last February. An expert investigation had earlier found that the company had failed to follow safety precautions at the construction site. It was also proved that there was a failure on the part of the officials who were responsible for checking and ensuring these matters. He was convicted for negligence and violation of safety rules.

On September 11, 2015, 108 people died and 238 were injured when a crane involved in the Haram expansion project collapsed. The Criminal Appeal Court in Makkah has clarified that the company does not have to pay the death benefit to the relatives of those who died in the accident. They were compensated by the Saudi government. The tragedy happened on a Friday evening, days before the start of the 2015 Hajj. The huge crane installed for the development of the Haram was blown to the ground by the wind. Malayali Haj pilgrims also died in the accident.

The Supreme Court is closing the case after eight years of legal proceedings. In a verdict dated October 1, 2017, the criminal court acquitted all 13 accused of negligence. The Makkah court ruled that the disaster was not caused by human error but by heavy rain and lightning.
In December 2020, the Makkah Criminal Court acquitted all 13 accused in the case, including the Saudi bin Laden group. On August 4, 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld the verdict of the Makkah Criminal Court acquitting all the accused in the case. The accused were acquitted three times stating that nothing new was found.

In July 2022, the Saudi Supreme Court asked the Makkah Criminal Court to review the verdict. It demanded that all judgments issued by the Criminal Court and the Court of Appeal be quashed and that all cases be re-examined by a new judicial circuit. The order also directed that none of the judges who heard the case before should be included in the bench.
In the subsequent investigation, the Makkah court ordered Binladin Company to pay two crore Riyals in compensation, three of the defendants were sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 30,000 Riyals, while the other four were sentenced to three months in prison and a fine of 15,000 Riyals. This has now been upheld and the Supreme Court has made a final decision in the case proceedings.

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2023-08-14 11:05:24