DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Police charged the owners of aBangladeshi garment factory and 11
employees with culpable homicideSunday for alleged negligence leading to the death of 112 workers in araging
fire that engulfed the factory last year.It was the firsttime Bangladeshi authorities had sought to
prosecute factory owners inthe world’s second-largest garment industry. A series of recent deadlydisasters —
including the Nov. 24, 2012, fire and a factory collapse inApril that killed more than 1,100 workers —
exposed how harsh and oftenunsafe conditions can be for many of the country’s 4 million workersproviding
clothing to major Western retailers.Public ProsecutorAnwarul Kabir Babul said the 13 people charged Sunday
could face life inprison if convicted of failing to ensure safety at the sprawlingTazreen Fashions Ltd.
factory, located outside Dhaka, the capital.Thefactory, which produced clothing for global brands including
Wal-Mart,had no emergency fire exits, while its location in a narrow alley meantfirefighters were unable to
reach the flames, Babul said.Thosecharged include owners Delwar Hossain and his wife, Mahmuda Akter, aswell
as 11 factory managers, security guards and engineers, Babul said. Acourt will decide on Dec. 31 whether to
accept the charges and allow atrial to proceed."The managers and security guards misguided theworkers
by saying that it was nothing but a part of a regular fire drillwhen the blaze broke out," Babul said.
"So the workers went back towork after the fire alarm went off, but they got trapped as the
mangerslocked the gates."Bangladesh is the world’s second-largestgarment manufacturer after China and
earns more than $20 billion a yearfrom exports, mainly to the United States and Europe.Copyright 2013 The
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