Ali Bin Jassim: Fire acquittal

Qatar’s ambassador to Belgium, Sheikh Ali Bin Jassim Al-Thani, has been acquitted of a charge of involuntary manslaughter by the Qatar Court of Appeal. He was the co-owner of the Villagio Mall nursery (Gympanzee), where a fire in May 2012 killed 13 children. The sheikh was among four people appealing a 2013 involuntary manslaughter conviction imposed by a criminal court. Sheikh Ali owned the nursery with his wife, Iman, a daughter of Qatar’s culture minister, but the two regularly failed to attend court.