DOHA: The Prosecution will appeal against the verdict of the Court of Appeals in the Villaggio fire case, reports Qatar News Agency (QNA). The Attorney General, H E Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri, yesterday asked the prosecution to move the Court of Cassation (Qatar’s highest court) and appeal the decision of the Court of Appeals in the Villaggio Mall fire case. The Court of Appeals had acquitted all the defendants in the case.
The Villaggio Mall fire had, on May 28, 2012, claimed 19 lives, 13 of them children.
According to Qatar News Agency, the Attorney General ordered the prosecution attached to the highest court to prepare a memo detailing the cause of the Villaggio Mall fire and explaining why they are going in appeal against the appellate court’s verdict and show it to him before submitting it to the top court.
On October 26 this year, the Court of Appeals acquitted all defendants and threw out their convictions announced earlier by a lower court.
The appellate court cleared the defendants of all charges and stipulated that conviction in the case will be under the provisions of Articles (1) and (1/43) of the Resolution of the Minister of Civil Service and Housing Affairs No (20) of 2005.
Accordingly, the appellate court slapped a fine of QR20,000 on Real Estate Projects Company and ordered it to pay, in collaboration with its partners and the insurance company, blood money (financial compensation known in Arabic as Diya) of QR200,000 to the heirs of each of the victims, said QNA.
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