A Libyan court sentences 12 officials to prison for last year's deadly floods

CAIRO (AP) — A court in Libya on Sunday sentenced 12 current and former officials to prison terms of up to 27 years. The accusation: They were involved in the collapse of two dams that caused a wall of water several meters high to wash through the center of a coastal city last year. Thousands of people died.

The two dams outside the city of Derna collapsed on September 11 after being hit by Storm Daniel, which brought heavy rains to eastern Libya. The collapse of the structures flooded up to a quarter of the city, destroyed entire neighborhoods and washed people into the sea, according to officials.

The criminal court in Derna on Sunday convicted 12 current and former officials of mismanagement, negligence and errors that contributed to the disaster, according to a statement from the country's chief prosecutor's office.

The defendants, who were responsible for managing the country's dams, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from nine to 27 years, the statement said, without naming them. Three of the defendants were ordered to return “money from illegal gains,” the statement said, without giving details.

The court said it had acquitted four other defendants.

According to the Libyan judiciary, Sunday's verdict could be appealed to a higher court.

The oil-rich North African country has been in chaos since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising that degenerated into civil war toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed. Over the past decade, rival governments have claimed power to rule Libya, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

The east of the country is under the control of General Khalifa Haftar and his self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which is allied with a government approved by parliament. A rival government is based in the capital Tripoli and enjoys the support of much of the international community.

The dams were built in the 1970s by a Yugoslavian construction company above Wadi Derna, a river valley that divides the city, to protect the city from flash floods, which are not uncommon in the area. The dams were not maintained for decades, despite scientists warning that they could break.

A 2021 report by a state audit agency said the two dams had not been maintained, despite more than $2 million being allocated for that purpose in 2012 and 2013.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), up to a third of the houses and infrastructure in Derna were damaged by the flooding from the dams.

The World Health Organization said more than 4,000 people had died in the floods, but the head of the Libyan Red Crescent had previously put the death toll at 11,300. OCHA said at the time that in addition to the recorded deaths, at least 9,000 people were missing.

Samy Magdy, The Associated Press