Cairo, The Court's Rule on Doweyqa Case
The Misdemeanors Court of Monsha't Nasser issued a verdict on the Doweyqa case by the imprisonment for five years for the first defendant, a deputy governor of Cairo governorate, and three years for seven defendants who are also employees of the State.
The facts of the case go back to the year 2008 when a huge rock of Al-Moqatam Mountain collapsed on Ezbet Bekhet- Doweyqa- Cairo and led to the death of 107 inhabitants and 57 were injured according to the official statements.
However, the survivors stated that the number of deaths is greater than the official statistics, as many of the dead bodies remain buried under the rubble and never been picked off.
Despite the government had a project to build for Doweyqa's people by a grant from Abu Dhabi Fund, and despite that 4000 units that officials of the project were available, the officials did not deliver such units to the people who were in a high risk, which led to the above-mentioned disaster. The Egyptian Center for Housing Rights, who has been working on Doweyqa district for more than 9 years, had received many complaints in the past before that reveal the corruption in distributing housing units in which they are given by officials who are not in need. In addition, ECHR filed a complaint one month before the accident to the General Persecutor, Cairo governor, and the Chief of Monsha't Nasser Municipality expressing its fear from expected rockslide and arguing them to deliver the housing units to the inhabitants, however; the GP reserve the complaint without investigation and neither the Cairo governor nor the Chief of Monsha't Nasser replied or took action with regard to the complaint.
It is worth mentioning that ECHR filed a case against the GP after the accident, the GP opened an investigation according to which he charged 8 officials by Manslaughter. The Center's lawyers and other voluntary lawyers opposed the Misdemeanors Court jurisdiction and demanded to hold the jurisdiction for the Criminal Court as the charge should be amended to negligence of Public servants duties that led to deaths. Moreover, the lawyers demanded to add other defendants including Cairo governor, and the former and current Ministers of Housing, however; the Court refused that demands and held its jurisdiction.
Today, the Court made the above mentioned decision and it ordered a bond of 5000 pounds for the first defendant and 3000 pounds for the rest of defendants for pending the execution of the imprisonment until they appeal the verdict.
Egyptian Center for Housing Rights
Address: 33 Kasr al-Nile St., Ninth Floor
Cairo, Egypt
Phone: + 202 23922194
Fax: +202 23052952
Email: echreg@echreg.org
Egyptian Center for Housing Rights