Defendants in Dead Sea case released on bail

AMMAN — The Amman Court of Reconciliation on Thursday decided to release on bail all eight defendants who are standing trial in the case of the Dead Sea tragedy that left more than 20 people dead.

The defendants included the Victoria College School (VCS) owner and its principal, three Ministry of Education employees and three from a tourism company.

They are charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of 21 people in the Dead Sea area during bad weather conditions last month, including students from the VCS who were on a trip to the Zarqa-Maeen Valley, when flashfloods swept through the area they were hiking.

The eight defendants, including three men and five women, were also charged with negligence following the October 25 incident which grabbed headlines amid public outrage and calls.

Other victims included families who were in the area and a tour guide.

All eight pleaded not guilty during their opening trial last week.

Presiding Judge Mohammad Tarawneh instructed the defendants not to leave town, one of the defendant’s lawyers, Ahmad Najdawi, told The Jordan Times.

“This is standard procedure to ban defendants from leaving the country while the court is hearing their case,” Najdawi explained.

The court adjourned the session until Sunday to hear more from the prosecution’s witnesses in the case.

Earlier this month, several families who lost their children in the incident had signed papers stating they do not mind the release of the 68-year-old school principal on bail while maintaining their legal rights, a source from VCS told The Jordan Times.