Zolitude 21.11., which is the association representing the interests of victims of Zolitude tragedy has plans to sue Latvia for failure to secure an effective construction monitoring system at the time of the tragedy.
This much was said by the association’s leader, politician Regīna Ločmele from Harmony party in an interview to LTV programme Rīta panorāma on Thursday, the 2nd of February. She said this plea
will be submitted to a court of law once all three instances have completed the trial of the ongoing criminal case and the ruling has come into force.
Ločmele explained that what is known about the criminal case so far is that Latvia did not have an effective construction monitoring and control system at the time of the tragedy. Such a system could have, she said, prevented the deaths of 54 people.
The head of the association affirmed that a financial compensation will be requested from the state, but it will not reach in the millions. «The compensation is not what’s important – a fair trial is,» Ločmele told the programme.
As previously reported, at the end of January 2023 Riga Regional Court announced the appeal court’s ruling in the so-called Zolitude tragedy criminal case. The regional court, like the court of first instance, declared only one person guilty – construction engineer Ivars Sergets. The rest of the accused were acquitted. All of the sides involved – the prosecution, Sergets and the accused – voiced dissatisfaction with this outcome.
The criminal case was commenced over the tragedy that took place in Zolitude on the 21st of November 2013, when the roof of a Maxima supermarket collapsed, killing 54 people and injuring several dozen. Construction experts concluded the tragedy occurred because the load on the roof structure was incorrectly calculated during construction.
More on this topic: Maxima tragedy appeal case viewing ends with Sergets declared guilty again