Sources have said that the persons detained over the Jeddah flood disaster are expected to be released within the next few days following the completion of inquiries and that public legal action will be taken against them. The sources added that several of those detained intend to appoint defense lawyers to represent them in court. Omar Al-Khouli, a legal consultant and Professor of Law at King Abdulaziz University, said that the imminent release of the detained was by no means a sign of their innocence, noting that the release could be due to the initiation of judicial procedures and court appearances. According to Al-Khouli, private legal action was unlikely due to a “lack of a direct causal link” between the accusations and damage caused. “Investigations have not proved any direct causal link between errors and damage,” he said. “The most likely punishments for those involved would range from disciplinary measures such as pay severance, bonus severance and dismissal, to penal measures such as fines and prison according to the charges.” Public action could be brought by either the Monitoring and Investigation Commission (MIC) or the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution (CIP), depending on the charges filed. “It also depends on whether the individual was a public employee or not, which will decide the court they are to appear before,” Al-Khouri said. “If the charges involve what's known as ‘employee crime' such as bribery, forgery, embezzlement, abuse of power, profiting from a public position, abusing the influence of position or going beyond the duties of the position, then public action is pursued by the MIC and comes under the jurisdiction of the punitive and disciplinary circuits at the Board of Grievances,” Al-Khouri said. “If the charges involve public offences then the CIP pursues the action,” he said. Al-Khouri said that if the charges concern penal crimes such as swindling, deception and appropriation of funds, then the case is heard by the District Court. “If the person is accused of non-penal crimes such as contract fraud or forgery, or failing to abide by contractual conditions, or if they are connected with real estate claims, then the case goes to the General Court,” he said. Al-Khoutri added that any time spent in detention would be deducted from any future prison sentence.
