The Jeddah General Court and the District Court have formed special committees to receive investigation reports of those accused of wrongdoing in the Jeddah flood disasters, before referral to the chief justice, according to sources quoted in Al-Hayat Arabic daily. The reports include the names of government officials, businessmen and others who were responsible for the Jeddah flood drainage projects over the past 25 years. The investigation committees affiliated to the Control and Investigation Board (CIB) and the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) have successfully completed their missions secretly as per the Royal directives in this regard. All individuals involved were questioned in interrogation rooms located in special places. The sources said that some judges have been selected to start the trials of the accused. The attorney-general has demanded that those responsible for the catastrophes receive harsh punishments because of the damage to public property, loss of innocent lives, negligence and indifference toward the country and its citizens. The charges against the accused are based on evidence from the reports of the Civil Defense, the reports of the Fact-Finding Committee and CDs provided by the Jeddah Mayoralty. The CIB and BIP requested some government departments to furnish official documents to ensure confessions and statements made by the accused about some projects and plans are true. Among the individuals facing charges include a 63-year-old retired official who was a construction agent for the mayoralty and a businessman, a former mayoralty official who was responsible for flood projects and another mayoralty official whose identity was kept secret by the CIB and BIP. The investigations and trials have been ordered by King Abdullah, Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques. As per the King's directive, persons mentioned during investigations but not directly involved in the catastrophe will be investigated by the Ministry of Interior. __
