MADINAH: Lawyers representing 600 Madinah residents who filed a lawsuit against three government departments for failing to stop the dumping of toxic waste in their neighborhood have pledged to appeal a decision by a judge to throw out the case.
Residents in the Hamra Al-Assad district, located in the southwestern part of Madinah between the center of the holy city and Abyar Ali, had filed the lawsuit against the Madinah Municipality, the regional office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) 18 months ago, accusing them of not taking action against local industries that have polluted the local environment for the past 20 years.
Residents have called for the removal of pollution, punishment of those responsible and SR2 billion in compensation. However, a judge at the general court in Madinah rejected their case recently.
Lawyers representing the residents said they would now appeal after formally receiving the document containing the court’s verdict.
“We would appeal the verdict because we have absolute confidence in our judicial system and its fairness,” said Saud Awwad Al-Hujaili, the attorney leading the lawyers. He added that the appeal would be filed at the beginning of September.
The pollution is said to have caused a number of deaths, cancer and mental disorders.
“The verdict was against the expectations of all residents. As attorneys, we were left astonished. It was based on illogical and unrealistic reasons. It is absurd to say there is no connection between diseases and pollution,” Al-Hujaili said, adding that the case was rejected after being heard over nine court sessions.
“Why was the case not rejected in the first or second session? Why did it take nine sessions to be rejected? This is something that has surprised residents,” said Al-Hujaili.
The lawyer said the verdict would only be final when the Supreme Judicial Council in Riyadh — which he expects will turn it down — approves it.
Residents say some 70 industrial sewage lakes have been built in their area to dump industrial waste and that the three government departments have failed to deal with the problems. They also alleged that although the dumping sites were closed down in 2007, the effects of pollution still exist.
The residents say the toxic industrial waste, which has been there for 20 years, caused the deaths of 14 people through cancer in addition to various illnesses to more than 20 people, including kidney and liver failures.
“We have seen mental retardation in children, mutated animals that have lost their eyes, skin or hair, birds falling dead and other horrors,” said Al-Hujaili.
The toxic waste is believed to include large amounts of arsenic, chromium and cadmium, which are said to cause illnesses such as cancer, respiratory problems, and kidney and liver ailments.
Al-Hujaili said it took the judge only 60 minutes to announce his decision.
Evidence submitted by the lawyers included a report by the Municipal Council affirming that water contaminated with arsenic, chromium and cadmium were dumped for over 20 years in the district, a report by the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) showing high levels of toxic substances in waste, confessions from the head of services at Madinah Municipality and the director of a cleaning company that there is pollution in the area, and excerpts of a lecture by the president of the PME in which he criticized the present dumping site as not safe and that factories in Madinah do not observe the rules of environmental safety.
Al-Hujaili commended the support offered by the National Society for Human Rights, including its chairman Dr. Hussein Sharif and its member Muhammad Salim Al-Awadi.
He also praised Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed who ordered that water from artesian wells in the area should not be used and that residents be provided with drinking water through water tankers. The lawyer added that in addition to the lawsuit filed at the general court, residents have filed a lawsuit against local factories at the Shariah Court. “The two cases are running side by side and we will finally win,” he added. “Eleven lawyers who specialize in cases relating to pollution, the environment and marine life have volunteered to join the defense team free of charge,” he added.
Muhammad Al-Matrafi, a resident of the neighborhood, said, “I was shocked by the verdict, especially since the case has been properly documented and many of our people have lost their lives because of pollution. It is really disappointing that after 18 months of deliberations, the court said no to our petition.”
