BONN – German court rejected on Thursday a lawsuit by Pakistani plaintiffsagainst clothing retailer KiK over a deadly 2012 fire at a Baldia Towngarment factory, saying the statute of limitations had expired.
The blaze at the Ali Enterprises factory killed at least 258 people.
Nine accused, including MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui, former sector in-chargeAbdul Rehman alias Bhola, Zubair alias Chariya and party’s former KTCchief, were charged with allegedly setting ablaze the factory with the helpof its four gatekeepers Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and AliMohammad.
A survivor and three relatives of victims had sought damages for pain andsuffering from KiK of 30,000 euros ($34,600) each.
They argued that, although KiK did not cause the fire, it shared blame fora lack of safety measures at the factory.
But a spokesman for the regional court in Dortmund said judges agreed witha court-appointed expert’s finding that the civil suit was not filed withinthe applicable two-year period.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), aBerlin-based rights group supporting the plaintiffs, said it wasconsidering appealing the ruling.
“KiK was the factory’s main customer and therefore bears some of theresponsibility for the inadequate fire safety measures,” lawyer RemoKlinger, who represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
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KiK, which has paid over $6.0 million in compensation to survivors andvictims’ families, has rejected liability for the fatal fire.
“KiK evades the legal responsibility for the death of 258 people, but atleast a German court was willing to look into the case in the first place,”said claimant Saeeda Khatoon, whose son died in the inferno.
“I am very sad that our voice was not heard by the court. We lost ourchildren in the 2012 factory fire. It seems that nobody cares for the poorworkers. It was a decision in favor of the companies. But I will not stopmy fight for our rights,” Khatoon told DWlink.
Gunther Lehleiter, an attorney representing KiK, told DW that the decisionwas a “sound ruling” because the fire was a “terrorist incident” and didnot result from the factory being in poor condition.
A lack of emergency exits, fire extinguishers and clearly marked escaperoutes contributed to the fire’s heavy toll, according to experts cited bythe ECCHR. – APP / AFP
