Libyan on trial for Amsterdam detention centre fire

HAARLEM, Netherlands, May 21 (Reuters) A 24-year-old Libyan went on trial today for a 2005 blaze in a detention centre at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport that killed 11 people.

Prosecutors say that Ahmed Al-Jeballi deliberately started the midnight fire in the detention centre for illegal immigrants and suspected drug traffickers in which he was among about 300 people being held in October 2005.

The prosecution told the court in the town of Haarlem, close to the Dutch capital Amsterdam, that Al-Jeballi ''intentionally started a fire in his cell using a burning cigarette butt or other materials that can ignite a fire''.

Al-Jeballi, who appeared in court in jeans and a grey striped shirt, denied starting the fire on purpose, saying he flicked away a cigarette butt which he thought was out before falling asleep, and woke up to see his bed on fire.

An inquiry by the Dutch Safety Board concluded last year that there would have been few or no victims if authorities had paid enough attention to fire safety. The report led to the resignation of two government ministers.

Shortcomings in the buildings intensified the fire and made it harder for firefighters to reach those trapped, the report said.

Staff were poorly trained for emergencies.

''The government is not before this court, but the government made a huge amount of mistakes. So much suffering could have been prevented if it had acted adequately,'' Al-Jeballi's lawyer Eduard Damman told reporters.

A small group of people stood outside the courthouse, holding a banner reading ''Deportation is the crime''.

Among them was Libyan Murad Agury who survived the fire. ''Our lives changed after the fire. We are trying to know what changed our life,'' he said. ''At this moment my whole body is shaking. It's too difficult. To see the fire, to see the dead people.'' The court plans to deliver a verdict on June 15.

Reuters RJ GC1953