Paraguay court sentences owners in supermarket fire
ASUNCION, Feb 2 (Reuters) - A Paraguayan court sentenced the owners and managers of a supermarket to prison on Saturday, after a fire caused by negligence killed 327 people in 2004, seen as the country's worst peacetime disaster.
The court sentenced the owner, his son, a security guard and a major shareholder in the Ycua Bolanos V supermarket to prison terms ranging from 2-1/2 years to 12 years, sparking outrage from survivors and victims' families.
In addition to the large death toll, at least 400 people were injured when the supermarket burned down in August 2004 after a fire started in a chimney that investigators said was poorly built and poorly maintained.
The supermarket also lacked an effective fire detection system and the court said it failed to meet minimum safety standards, including proper emergency exits.
The court sentenced the owner of the supermarket, Juan Pio Paiva, to 12 years in prison and his son Victor Daniel Paiva to 10 years. Store security guard Daniel Areco was sentenced to five years and shareholder Humberto Casaccia received a sentence of 2-1/2 years.
The men were charged with negligent homicide and with endangering people in the work place.
Three other shareholders were acquitted.
"It's a joke that the people responsible for 400 deaths got these minimum sentences," Bersabe Meza, who lost her husband in the fire, told Reuters. "This shows that in this country, people with money can kill with impunity."
Hundreds protested the ruling outside the court, chanting, "Twenty-five years, that's justice," in reference to the sentence requested by the prosecution.
Victims' families set up 400 white chairs in a main street near the court in memory of the deceased, and hung signs that warned: "If there is no justice, the people will rise up."
"We are indignant about this ruling, but hopeful that with an appeal we can increase the sentence," said Liz Torres, a survivor of the fire.
The prosecutors and defendants have 10 days to appeal the sentence. (Reporting by Daniela Desantis and Mariel Cristaldo; Writing by Pav Jordan; Editing by Eric Beech)
The court sentenced the owner, his son, a security guard and a major shareholder in the Ycua Bolanos V supermarket to prison terms ranging from 2-1/2 years to 12 years, sparking outrage from survivors and victims' families.
In addition to the large death toll, at least 400 people were injured when the supermarket burned down in August 2004 after a fire started in a chimney that investigators said was poorly built and poorly maintained.
The supermarket also lacked an effective fire detection system and the court said it failed to meet minimum safety standards, including proper emergency exits.
The court sentenced the owner of the supermarket, Juan Pio Paiva, to 12 years in prison and his son Victor Daniel Paiva to 10 years. Store security guard Daniel Areco was sentenced to five years and shareholder Humberto Casaccia received a sentence of 2-1/2 years.
The men were charged with negligent homicide and with endangering people in the work place.
Three other shareholders were acquitted.
"It's a joke that the people responsible for 400 deaths got these minimum sentences," Bersabe Meza, who lost her husband in the fire, told Reuters. "This shows that in this country, people with money can kill with impunity."
Hundreds protested the ruling outside the court, chanting, "Twenty-five years, that's justice," in reference to the sentence requested by the prosecution.
Victims' families set up 400 white chairs in a main street near the court in memory of the deceased, and hung signs that warned: "If there is no justice, the people will rise up."
"We are indignant about this ruling, but hopeful that with an appeal we can increase the sentence," said Liz Torres, a survivor of the fire.
The prosecutors and defendants have 10 days to appeal the sentence. (Reporting by Daniela Desantis and Mariel Cristaldo; Writing by Pav Jordan; Editing by Eric Beech)
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