Algerian court opens the case of major earthquake

For the first time in the Algerian judicial records, a court Tuesday started hearing 37 defendants in 38 in the so called “earthquake case”.

• The hearings started amid exceptional security measures with the presence of 37 convicts out of 38 as one of them is still at large. The lawyers noticed the total absence of the witnesses including the two ministerial committees assigned by the housing ministry to make an expertise on the damaged areas.
• To recall, the first judge who treated the case and listened to the defendants as well as the different experts , concluded to the fact that the amplitude of the quake was the main cause of this catastrophe and that human error was excluded.
• The 25 lawyers requested the presence of the plaintiff who lodged a complaint against the convicts.