Suspect of Duisburg Love Parade stampede to stand trial
Xinhua, April 24, 2017 Adjust font size:
Those suspected of being responsible for the events leading to the Duisburg Love Parade stampede in 2010 will now stand trial for negligent homicide and bodily injury.
The Love Parade, a festival for electric music fans, turned out to be a great tragedy on July 24, 2010 as a massive panic at the entrance tunnel caused a stampede which killed 21 people, and injured more than 600.
The regional court rejected the trial in April 2016, partly because of a faulty expert assessment. The court stated that "a conviction of the accused is not expected" since the charges brought by the prosecution were not substantiated by the evidence presented. Federal prosecutors and multiple joint plaintiffs lodged complaints against the ruling.
The Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf has overturned the decision, given a reasonable probability of a conviction of the six employees of the city of Duisburg and four employees of the event organizer.
A press release from the Higher Regional Court said that the current investigation suggested that the insufficiently sized and designed entrance and exit system led to the catastrophy in 2010.
The Higher Regional Court does not share the regional court's concerns with the expert assessment in key aspects.
The Regional Court must now set a date for the main hearings. Endit