Jeddah court to refer school fire case to BIP HRC dissatisfiedOkaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Five schoolgirls have confessed to starting the fire at the Bara'em Al-Watan Private Girls' School in Jeddah. Their confessions were certified at the Jeddah General Court, Saturday. Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Qinni, Chief of the Jeddah General Court, said the court has decided to refer the case to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP). The BIP will complete the necessary interrogations, summon other parties and provide protective custody for those found guilty. Two of the accused are sisters. “The case papers were dispatched at 11 A.M. by a representative from the Civil Defense and were referred to Judge Mus'ab Al-Askari to complete the necessary legal proceedings including the recording of the confessions,” said Al-Qinni. He said the court has completed its work. It was now up to the BIP to decide on the degree of guilt of the five female pupils. Al-Qinni said the Public Prosecutor will refer the suspects to the General Court if the victims' guardians claim blood money. The case may also be referred to the District Court in Jeddah if the victims' guardians demand corporal punishment. Al-Qinni said his initial reading of the case is that the five pupils did not deliberately intend to burn the school. They were only young children who were playing with fire. Al-Qinni said the Public Prosecutor may file charges against other pupils. But in all cases, he said, the girls will only receive light punishments because the investigations showed that they were only having some fun. This is why they were released and handed over to their guardians. The role of the General Court was limited to attestation of the confessions. The five students will not be tried unless the prosecutor hands over the charge sheets to the court. If any of the confessions are retracted, this will not affect the case because it has been concluded from the testimony of the girls that there was no criminal intention, said Al-Qinni. He added that they made their confessions in the court in the presence of their guardians. Dr. Omar Al-Khouli, legal adviser to the Human Rights Commission (HRC), said he was dissatisfied with the manner in which the girls were brought before the court. He said he has high hopes that the BIP will ignore all the confessions made by the pupils and consider only the testimony which they will make before the BIP. He said the criminal liability of the minors should be dropped and they should only be held responsible for blood money and monetary compensation for any losses, to be decided by the court. __
