The director of the secondary school in Mazzouna, in the governorate of Sidi Bouzid, where three students tragically lost their lives and two others were injured as a result of the collapse of a wall, was placed in police custody.
This decision was confirmed Tuesday by the spokesperson for the Sidi Bouzid court, Jawhar Gabsi, to the correspondent of the TAP. The educational manager is now under investigation, following the implementation of legal proceedings.
The incident, which shocked the region, led to the opening of a judicial inquiry under articles 217 and 225 of the Tunisian Criminal Code. The investigating judge, in charge of the case, ordered a judicial mandate and entrusted the investigation to the Brigade of the National Guard of Aouina. It was the results of this preliminary survey that led to the custody of the director of the high school, suspected of negligence in the management of school infrastructure.
The articles of the penal code referred to in the survey provide for severe sentences. Article 217 (new) stipulates that the manslaughter committed by clumsiness, recklessness, negligence or non-compliance with the rules is liable to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 720 dinars.
Furthermore, article 225 (new) provides that anyone who has caused involuntary bodily lesions, by negligence or imprudence, can be sentenced to a sentence of one year in prison and a fine of 480 dinars.
This tragic event has highlighted the maintenance issues of school infrastructure in the region, where calls for the responsibility of the authorities and a revision of security conditions in educational establishments are more and more numerous.
