JEDDAH — Families of the victims of crane crash in Grand Mosque in Makkah last year have filed at the Summary Court in Jeddah five lawsuits demanding private rights. As many as 110 people died and 260 were injured in the crane crash in September 2015. According to sources, judge Abdulaziz Al-Tuwairqi said the demands for personal rights will be decided after the court completes studying the public rights side of the case. The court will reconvene next week to look into the case in which a number of employees of the Binladen Group, including 14 Saudis, are being tried for their possible involvement in the crash. The sources said the judge has asked the attorney general to prepare a list of charges against each defendant showing the accusations against him along with the evidence. A special five-member committee has finalized the names of the people killed or injured in the crash after comparing them with the names submitted by the Ministry of Health and the Civil Defense. This was a necessary step to prevent any false claims by people for compensation. The sources said that only the people whose names were on the list could file lawsuits asking for diyah (blood money) or compensation. Meanwhile, lawyers Majed Garoup and Saad Al-Bahouth said the compensation ordered by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman was considered a royal grant which could not at all be considered a Shariah diyah. The King ordered SR1 million for families of every dead person, a similar amount for anyone who suffered permanent disabilities, and SR50,000 for each person injured in the crash. The lawyers said that injured people or the kin of each dead person can claim compensation for personal rights in addition to the grants ordered by the King.
