JEDDAH — The District Court was left in darkness Sunday following a power outage that some court sources described as deliberately instigated by the Saudi Electricity Company. All computers went down and over 300 hearings in criminal cases were put on hold. After power was restored, the court did not allow the public to enter its premises because the computer central system would take at least eight hours to retrieve and upload information. The sources said the Saudi Electricity Company cut off power because the location of the court, where a shopping mall used to exist, had electricity bills in arrears. The court called the Civil Defense to free seven people who were trapped in elevators and help prisoners who were detained in the basement floor inside rooms that were suddenly plunged into pitch darkness. To make things worse, the emergency electrical generator did not work. Several people said work at the court stopped completely and many inmates who were supposed to be set free had to be taken back to prison. Over 900 people who filed or were involved in cases filed at the court were waiting to attend hearings. Many were planning to bring lawsuits against others but could not do that. The court could not look into the list of 150 accusations sent by the Bureau of Investigations and Prosecution. Okaz/Saudi Gazette called SEC Jeddah branch Abdulali Al-Thebaiti who initially said he would not make any comment until he could verify the accusations leveled against the SEC and why some sources said the blackout was intentional. He later said the technicians who were dispatched to the scene told him some lines inside the power grid snagged. He did confirm that the power was cut off three months ago because of outstanding payments and the location of the court was still classified as a shopping mall. The power tariffs for the court are calculated as if it was a shopping mall, he claimed. He noted that the SEC sent the court a letter asking it to change its location category to a government facility so that the company would not charge them for electricity. Another source insisted that there were no power line snags and that the SEC never sent the court any letters of such kind. The source said there was a sticker on the power meter inside the court saying: “Power has been cut off due to a failure to pay bills”. Other sources said this was not the first time the power was cut off in the court building. Okaz/Saudi Gazette tried to reach the Ministry of Justice's Makkah region branch director and ask him for a comment but he did not return the phone calls. Makkah Civil Defense spokesman Col. Saeed Sarhan said they sent support teams and took necessary actions to prevent any injury or loss of life. Sources also said six cases including murder and drug smuggling, in which the accused were facing death sentences, were suspended. Other suspended cases involved charges of misconduct, fraud, fake identity, use and possession of drugs, assault, money laundering, threatening behavior, prostitution, extortion and blackmail, perverted behavior, theft, pickpocketing, disobedience of parents, and defamation.
