Preliminary Ruling Acquits 13 Accused in Makkah Crane Crash Case

Toppled crane in Makkah Grand Mosque. AFP, Getty Images
Toppled crane in Makkah Grand Mosque. AFP, Getty Images
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Preliminary Ruling Acquits 13 Accused in Makkah Crane Crash Case

Toppled crane in Makkah Grand Mosque. AFP, Getty Images
Toppled crane in Makkah Grand Mosque. AFP, Getty Images

A penal court in Makkah acquitted on Sunday 13 employees in Binladin Group, charged with negligence in the September 11, 2015 crane crash incident, which had resulted in deaths of at least 109 people and the injury of some 400 others.

“The court said that they are not criminally responsible for the incident,” adding that the Saudi attorney general had filed an appeal against the decision which was approved.

The crane toppled over near the Grand Mosque in Makkah amid stormy weather, just days before Hajj.

The Binladin Group's defense team claimed the Saudi Arabia-based construction firm could not have predicted the severe thunderstorm and violent winds that caused the crane to fall.

The construction firm had been working for years on a multi-billion-dollar 400,000 square-meter enlargement of the Grand Mosque to accommodate increasing numbers of pilgrims to the site.

The collapsed crane was one of several erected by the Binladin Group as part of the project.



MWL Condemns Knesset’s Motion to Impose Sovereignty' over West Bank

The Muslim World League (MWL) logo
The Muslim World League (MWL) logo
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MWL Condemns Knesset’s Motion to Impose Sovereignty' over West Bank

The Muslim World League (MWL) logo
The Muslim World League (MWL) logo

The Muslim World League (MWL) has strongly condemned the Israeli Knesset's approval of a declaration calling for the imposition of "Israeli sovereignty" over the West Bank, the Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday.

MWL said the move reflects Israel's continued provocations against the Arab and Islamic nations and all peace-and justice-loving peoples around the world. The MWL denounced Israel's ongoing disregard for international laws and norms, and its deliberate undermining of all efforts aimed at stopping war and achieving peace.

In a statement issued by the MWL General Secretariat, MWL Secretary-General and Organization of Muslim Scholars Chairman Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa denounced the Israeli government's persistent policy of undermining the lives, dignity, and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. He stressed that Israel continues to violate all international and humanitarian laws and values in the Palestinian territories, describing the extremist government's criminal behavior as a major obstacle to a just and comprehensive peace and the stability sought by all in the region.

Al-Issa reiterated the justice and centrality of the Palestinian cause in the Arab and Islamic consciousness, as well as in the conscience of every fair-minded person. He stressed the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people that no de facto situation can strip away.

He also called on the international community to take a sincere and serious stand and to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities to end the ongoing humanitarian tragedy facing the Palestinian people. The secretary-general urged support for the Palestinians' legitimate right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with relevant international legitimacy resolutions.