Wael Fakeeh, lawyer of a former Jeddah deputy mayor, one of those accused in the Jeddah flood probe, said he has obtained official documents of government agencies that attributed the Jeddah flood catastrophe to natural, and not manmade, causes. “I still insist that the Jeddah flood issue was blown out of proportion. It was a natural disaster and I have evidence for what I say,” Fakeeh said, according to a report in Al-Madina newspaper. He said he would submit the documents as evidence and that it will acquit his client. He claimed he has also obtained another official document showing that the decision to approve and implement the Umm Al-Khair project took place between 1421–22H (2000-01), five years after his client retired. “This evidence will absolve my client of any involvement in the flood case because he retired in 1417H (1996). How could he be accused of something that took place five years after his retirement?” Fakeeh expects 50 percent of the charges leveled against his client to be dropped after he presents the evidence. He said that in the next court hearing that is set to be held in Jeddah District Court the judge may ask his client to respond to the charges. “If the judge does so, I will stick to the same defense that the court does not have jurisdiction and that the case should be referred to the appeals court,” Fakeeh said. The opposing side in the Jeddah flood case is the Prosecutor General, he said, adding that he does not understand “why the cases are being referred to three judges despite the fact that the opposing side is the same in all the cases.” “The cases should have been referred to one judge only because all three cases are the same. Referring them to several judges may result in contradicting verdicts,” he added.
