The reason why the prosecution office failed to secure a guilty verdict in the so-called Zolitude tragedy case in the court of appeal instance may have been the fact that in the time when this tragedy happened the state had left the construction sector «unattended» without appropriate regulations, said Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma.
The prosecutor general stressed the motives of the verdict announced by Riga Regional Court on the 24th of January are unavailable yet. He added that he is waiting for an opportunity to study the motives. Stukāns also said «it seems there are legal aspects – at some point Latvia had definitely left the construction sector unattended and had failed to ensure completion of specific laws and Cabinet of Ministers regulations».
He explained that in the time when the now collapsed supermarket in Zolitude was under construction, regulations, unfortunately, did not provide tight responsibility for every person involved in the construction process. This may be the reason why it is now difficult to prosecute those people.
«It is clear that every person sitting on the accused bench and who were previously presented with am acquittal know very well what they did and didn’t do, but our is a country ruled by law, and if the country had failed to approve requirements, there is little we can do to prosecute these people,» said Stukāns.
As previously reported, in January Riga Regional Court announced its verdict after the viewing the so-called Zolitude tragedy criminal case in a process of appeal. Only construction engineer Ivars Sergets was found guilty. The rest of the accused received acquittal.
Motives behind the verdict are unknown as of yet. However, both the prosecution and the defence are already prepared to challenge it once the full text has been published.
The so-called Zolitude tragedy took place on the 21st of November 2013. The roof a Maxima supermarket collapsed, killing 54 people and injuring several dozen.
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Prosecutor General: Zolitude tragedy case partially failed because the state had left construction sector «unattended»
