Five defendants in the Bondo GR landslide case
Published: Thursday, Jul 25th 2024, 17:40
Updated At: Thursday, Jul 25th 2024, 18:10
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The public prosecutor's office in Graubünden has charged five people with multiple counts of negligent homicide in the case of the landslide in Bondo GR. The Maloja Regional Court must decide whether they misjudged the danger situation at the time.
Eight people died in the devastating landslide on August 23, 2017. The Maloja Regional Court must now find out whether the five defendants were in breach of duty in misjudging the danger before the landslide by not closing the hiking trails in advance.
On Thursday evening, the Graubünden public prosecutor's office confirmed a corresponding statement by the magazine "Beobachter" at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The accused include employees of the Graubünden Office for Forests and Natural Hazards (AWN) and the incumbent National Councillor Anna Giacometti (FDP), as can be seen from an excerpt of the indictment obtained by Keystone-SDA. Giacometti was the mayor of Bondo at the time of the landslide.
Second criminal proceedings
In 2019, the public prosecutor's office in Graubünden discontinued criminal proceedings against the same five defendants on the grounds that the landslide had not been foreseeable. The public prosecutor's office based its decision on a 73-page report by the AWN, which was drawn up after the event.
However, employees of the AWN who had come into question as defendants in the criminal proceedings were involved in this report. In 2021, relatives of the eight buried mountaineers finally succeeded in getting the Federal Supreme Court to order the public prosecutor's office to go over the books again.
In January of this year, the public prosecutor's office finally opened new criminal proceedings. The investigators based their decision on a new external report by an independent geologist, which stated that the landslide had been "foreshadowed by numerous precursors". The authorities had taken an "unacceptable risk" by not closing hiking trails in advance.
The results of the report by Vaud geologist Thierry Oppikofer were published in December 2023.
Now it comes to the trial
The five defendants now have to answer to the Maloja Regional Court. They face up to three years in prison or a fine for negligent homicide.
In January 2024, the AWN commented on the renewed criminal proceedings: "The cantonal administration has a great interest in ensuring that the proceedings are expedited quickly and that clarity can be created for all those affected." The administration will contribute to this with the necessary support.
©Keystone/SDA
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