Despite mounting incriminating evedence against Ferry owners Mahmoud Ismail and his son for forging documents and major safety violations, a court verdict acquitted them from any responsibility related to this ferry sinking disaster !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This verdict can certainly lead to Egyptians losing faith in their court system, where it sends the clear message that if you are powerful and connected, then you can escape from a clear case of manslaughter of over 1000 human beings.
Who is to blame for this appalling court verdict? The following article sheds some light.
Lawyers blame ferry verdict on referral to misdemeanors court
By Safaa Abdoun
First Published: August 3, 2008
http://dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=15492
CAIRO: Some lawyers are blaming the controversial Al-Salam 98 ferry case verdict on the fact that former Prosecutor General Maher Abdel Wahed had referred it to the Safaga misdemeanors court instead of a criminal court.
As the outcome continues to spur public furor, lawyers of the victims’ families said the case’s referral to a misdemeanors court paved the way to the acquittal of Mamdouh Ismail and other company officials.
“We are not going to point fingers at anyone in particular, but as the defense committee, we are certain that the case was referred to the misdemeanors court instead of a criminal court to let Mamdouh Ismail get away with the crime of murder,” Yasser Fathi, one of the lawyers in the defense committee, told Daily News Egypt.
“Even with the case at the misdemeanors court, they weren’t penalized for forging official documents which prove that Al-Salam 98 was fit for service when it actually wasn’t, which is why Ismail and his partners were acquitted,” added Fathi.
Al-Salam 98 Boccaccio ferry sank in the Red Sea on Feb. 3, 2006, claiming the lives of 1,034 Egyptians on their way back from Saudi Arabia.
On July 27, 2008 the Safaga misdemeanors court found Ismail, his son Amr and three other Al-Salam Company executives not guilty of manslaughter charges.
Alaaeddin Shahin, the captain of Saint Catherine ferry, was sentenced to six months in jail and fined LE 10,000 for failing to show “compassion” and not offering assistance to the sinking ship.
The case was referred to Safaga’s misdemeanors court in 2006 and even then it fueled ire.
Magdy Mehanna, the late columnist with Al-Masry Al-Youm, had written in May 26, 2007: “It is clear that the Prosecutor General’s decision to refer the case to the misdemeanors court means that Mamdouh Ismail and his son Amr are certainly going to be acquitted.”
Al-Salam 98 Ferry Disaster 4th Anniversary
On that day from four years ago Egypt had one of the worst disasters ever in the 21st century : El-Salam 98 Ferry sank in the Red Sea on Feb. 3, 2006, claiming the lives of 1,034 Egyptians on their way back from Saudi Arabia.
The man responsible for this agony is currently in London enjoying his freedom running away from a deserved jail sentence thanks to his connections. I wish that the British authorites rethink again about continuing to host this convicted criminal in their country.
Jail term for Egypt ferry owner
Source: BBC News
An Egyptian appeals court has sentenced the owner of a ferry that sank killing more than 1,000 people to seven years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. The ruling overturns Mamduh Ismail's acquittal over the 2006 sinking of the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 in the Red Sea.
That ruling had outraged many in Egypt who believed the businessman was being protected by his political connections. Ismail is believed to be in Europe and was sentenced in absentia.
For many, doomed ferry symbolizes Egypt's corruption
By Jeffrey Fleishman
LA Times - March 1, 2009
For many Egyptians, the sinking of the overcrowded and unseaworthy ferry has come to symbolize the corruption and cronyism that mingles between the government of President Hosni Mubarak and well-connected businessmen. The ferry owner, Mamdouh Ismail, was a Mubarak appointee to the upper house of parliament and was related to the owner of a company licensed by the state to inspect the safety of ships. Ismail was charged with manslaughter and fled to London. His money followed. He was found not guilty in absentia, despite a 600-page parliamentary committee report that found the ferry had "serious defects" and that the company and captain were negligent. The verdict was appealed. The court's ruling on whether to overturn the decision or call a new trial is expected to be handed down March 11.
Read More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-egypt-ferry1-2009mar...
Mamdouh Ismail's Threats
Mamdouh Ismail's Threats
by Mahmoud Mosallam 13/12/2008
I do not think that the Egyptian people carry feelings of hatred to a person as they do with the fugitive Mamdouh Ismail, owner of the death ferry known as "Peace 98", as evidenced by his inability to return to Egypt and face the people although he got a court ruling proving his innocence.
Read More:
http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=190222
سمعة القضاء المصري
ملابسات مريبة أحاطت بالقضية منذ بدايتها، أهمها:
١- بطء إجراءات إسقاط الحصانة عن المتهم الرئيسي، وهو النائب ممدوح إسماعيل صاحب الشركة مالكة العبارة المنكوبة، والتي استغرقت مايقرب من شهر ونصف، وذلك علي عكس حالات أخري أقل خطورة بكثير لم تستغرق إجراءات إسقاط الحصانة فيها سوي أيام وأحيانا ساعات قليلة.
٢- هرب المتهم الرئيسي مع ابنه إلي الخارج رغم إسقاط الحصانة عنه.
٣- تناقض حكم المحكمة مع ما سبق أن خلص إليه تقرير لجنة تقصي حقائق كان مجلس الشعب قد شكلها برئاسة النائب حمدي الطحان، رئيس لجنة النقل والمواصلات، وأثبت «أن الحالة الفنية للعبارة لم تكن تسمح لها بالإبحار، وأن الحكومة لم تتخذ أي إجراء لمحاسبة أحد علي هذا التقصير».
٤- إقرار النائب العام، المستشار عبدالمجيد محمود، بأن الحكم الصادر في هذه القضية معيب «لمخالفته ما هو ثابت بالأوراق، ولفساد في الاستدلال، ولقصور في التسبيب، ولتعسف في الاستنتاج»، وذلك طبقا لما ورد حرفيا في مذكرته التي طعن فيها رسميا علي هذا الحكم.
ولأن بعضا من هذه الملابسات كان قد ولد لدي قطاعات عريضة من المتابعين للقضية شكوكا قوية حول مساعي حثيثة يقوم بها المتهم الرئيسي لاستغلال علاقات صداقة ومصالح حميمة تربطه بأعلي مراكز صنع القرار، لتضليل العدالة وعرقلة مجراها والعمل علي «طبخ القضية»، فقد كان من الطبيعي أن يؤدي صدور حكم بالبراءة إلي تثبيت الشكوك المثارة ودعم وجهة النظر القائلة بتمكن الفساد من اختراق القضاء المصري.