Eight years after the fire in the Pakistani textile factory Ali Enterprises, two men have been sentenced to death for arson by an anti-terrorism court in Karachi. They are said to have set the fire because the factory owners refused to pay extortion money. Two hundred and fifty eight people died in the September 2012 fire. German textile company KiK was the factory’s main client.
The death penalty in this and any case is a serious human rights violation. Many death sentences in Pakistan are unlawful and are later overturned by higher courts, a likely possibility in this case as well. In addition, the anti-terrorism court’s ruling neglects important facts about inadequate fire protection measures in the factory.
Saeeda Khatoon who lost her son in the fire and represents the Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association, states, “This verdict does not help anyone: not us as the victims and survivors of the fire, nor the many textile factory workers who are still working under the most inhumane and dangerous conditions. We finally need a proper investigation into what happened eight years ago!”
The evidence used in the Pakistani trial is controversial. Several expert opinions ruled out arson as the cause of the fire, and it was not until three years after the fire that a witness reported possible extortion. Faisal Siddiqi, lawyer for the bereaved, asserts, “The factory fire in Karachi was obviously used as a show trial against political opponents. It did not do anything to address the structural failures that had led to 258 deaths and lifelong consequences for so many more.”
Miriam Saage-Maaß, head of the Business and Human Rights program at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, adds, “The verdict in Pakistan must not lead to a situation where no one has to answer for faulty fire protection. Safety measures must function even if a fire is started deliberately. But the lack of alarm systems and barred windows that were locked resulted in no chance of escaping the fire. KiK, as the main customer, had the opportunity to improve working conditions.”
In 2018, supported by experts in fire science and crowd simulation, Forensic Architecture, a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, produced a video analysis of the incident based on technical reports, photos, and survivor testimony, to support legal proceedings and advocacy efforts. Their analysis, produced in collaboration with ECCHR, demonstrated extensive failures of design and management throughout the building.
Nicholas Masterton, a researcher with Forensic Architecture, said: “Our analysis, based on information that was also submitted to the Pakistani court, demonstrates critical and systemic deficiencies in fire safety standards throughout the Ali Enterprises factory building. Doors that led nowhere, no fire alarms or extinguishers, far too many people in the building – these factors were all the result of management decisions, and of failures of oversight and responsibility on the part of the factory’s principal clients, and they undoubtedly contributed significantly to the high death toll, regardless of the initial cause of the fire.”
In March 2015, four fire survivors and family members of victims filed a lawsuit against KiK with the support of ECCHR and medico international. As the main customer, KiK had a great deal of influence on the factory in Pakistan – and should have ensured safe working conditions in the factory. The Dortmund Regional Court, however, dismissed the complaint based on the statute of limitations, so KiK’s alleged joint responsibility for the fire was never clarified.
