Defendants plead not guilty in Casablanca building tragedy
Casablanca (Morocco) (AFP) - Ten people standing trial on charges ranging from violating building codes to manslaughter over the July death of 23 people in the collapse of three buildings pleaded not guilty Friday.
The defendants include municipal technicians, a state engineer and a security officer as well as the two sons of the owner of one of the buildings that was under construction at the time of the accident.
Their trial opened Wednesday, and they face a range of charges, including manslaughter, corruption, violating building codes and issuing fake administrative documents.
On Friday the defendants pleaded not guilty and the trial was adjourned to November 3, an AFP correspondent said.
The court also announced that it will decide next Wednesday if those jailed, seven of the 10, can be released from prison as requested by their lawyers.
Early in the morning of July 11, three buildings collapsed in Casablanca, killing 23 people and injuring around 50 others in the worst tragedy of its kind to strike the North African country.
At the time residents who survived and experts said the disaster was the result of greed and corruption by building owners and their associates.
"Houses in this area should not be more than three storeys high. But because of corruption, my father was able to build a fourth and then a fifth floor... he was greedy," said Mourad Nouisser, whose father was killed in the accident.
Before the accident, residents of one building had noticed signs that it was subsiding, with some of the doors not closing properly and dust coming out of fresh cracks in the walls.
Casablanca is Morocco's economic capital and home to five million people. Many live in hazardous accommodations, including in the city's sprawling slums.
After a string of building accidents, the housing minister in 2012 said that between 4,000 and 7,000 buildings in Casablanca were at risk of collapse.