Schiphol fire suspect cleared of deliberately causing fire
A Libyan man, convicted several years ago for starting a deadly fire at Schiphol airport deportation centre in 2005, has been cleared by the appeal court in The Hague.
Ahmed Al-J was given a 1.5 year jail sentence in 2009 and deported. Eleven people died in the fire at the cell complex in October 2005. The fire is thought to have been started by a roll-up cigarette smoked by Al-J in his cell. He was seriously injured in the fire.
Al-J is currently in Libya. He is now planning to claim damages from the Dutch state and wants a residency permit, his lawyer Eduard Damman told reporters. Everyone who was injured in the fire was given a residency permit for the Netherlands.
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