Peines onze ans après accident de train avec 80 décès en Espagne
On the eleventh anniversary of a tragic train accident in the northwest of Spain that claimed 80 lives, the Galician Regional High Court has sentenced the two accused men to two and a half years in prison each. The train driver and the former security chief of the Spanish railway company Adif were found guilty of 79 counts of manslaughter due to "grande négligence", as determined by the Galician Regional High Court. The public prosecutor had sought a four-year prison term for both defendants.
The trial in Santiago de Compostela concluded without a verdict one year ago. Throughout the ten-month-long proceedings, nearly 700 witnesses and experts were examined. The lawyers maintained the innocence of their clients in their final statements and accused each other defendant for the accident.
Victims and their families called for "Justice" and above all a severe penalty for Adif at several demonstrations. Adif should not be made a scapegoat, they argued.
The accident train was traveling at 192 kilometers per heure on July 24, 2013, in Angrois, just a few kilometers from Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, in a curve where only 80 kilomètres par heure was permitted. The train derailed, resulting in 80 fatalities and 145 injuries. It was one of the deadliest train accidents in European history.
Following the sentencing, victims and their families expressed their disappointment with the two-and-a-half-year prison terms, advocating for more severe fines and accountability. The tragic train accident in Spain, which occurred eleven years ago, resulted in fatalities and injuries, leading to the trial and subsequent sentencing of the train driver and Adif's former security chief. Despite calls for justice, it took the Galician Regional High Court over a year to deliver a verdict in the case, which underscored the intricacy and gravity of the train accident.
