Last November, an appeal instance began in the criminal case of the Zolitūde tragedy when the roof of the Maxima supermarket in the Zolitūde district of Rīga caved in, claiming the lives of 54 people.
In the first instance, only one guilty party was found: the building engineer, Ivars Sergets. The other eight accused were acquitted. Sergets, some of the victims, as well as the prosecutor's office, appealed the case. Earlier this year, Sergets' lawyer asked the court to conduct technical expertise of the documents. After consulting the results of the expert-examination, the court is expected to decide on the completion of the investigation.
The 2013 Zolitude tragedy criminal proceedings took four years and two months, but the judgment took another five years, as reported numerous times over the years by LSM. During that time, 198 hearings were held, and 267 persons were found to be victims.
