Bangladesh to lay murder charges in 2013 garment factory collapse

Authorities in Bangladesh said they will file murder charges Monday against dozens of people for their roles in the 2013 collapse of a garment factory building that killed more than 1,100 people.

The charges will be pressed against 41 people, including the building's owner, Sohel Rana, and his parents and more than a dozen government officials, for their direct role behind the deaths of 1,137 people in the collapse of Rana Plaza, said Bijoy Krishna Kar, the main investigator.

A magistrate in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, is expected to register the charges against the accused, who also include the owners of the five factories that the building housed.

• Loblaw will 'vigorously defend' lawsuit over Rana Plaza factory collapse
• THE FIFTH ESTATE I Made in Bangladesh

Joe Fresh, the brand for Loblaw Co. Ltd., was just one of the many clothing designers who had merchandise being made at the facility via subcontracting.

Initially, investigators had said the accused would be charged with culpable homicide, but they later changed their plans due to the gravity of the accident.

If convicted of murder, the defendants could face the death penalty. The maximum punishment for culpable homicide is seven years in jail.

Investigators said the shift from the culpable homicide charges comes after the investigation found that Rana, his staff and the management of the five factories had forced the workers to enter the building despite their unwillingness to work on the day of the accident after the building developed major cracks a day before.

The police report mentioned the deaths as a "mass killing."

In a separate case, the accused will also face charges of violating safety rules in building Rana Plaza because additional floors were added to the original five-storey building, which was basically meant for office and shopping malls. Later, illegally built upper floors were transformed into factories.

The April 2013 collapse of Rana Plaza, located just outside Dhaka, highlighted grim conditions in Bangladesh's garment industry. Low wages in the poor South Asian country have led global brands and retailers to prefer Bangladesh over China and other developing countries.

The building collapse triggered an uproar at home and abroad for reforms in a sector that helps Bangladesh earn more than $20 billion a year from exports, mainly to the United States and Europe.