Tazreen owners charged with homicide

More than a year after the deadly fire at the garment factory 

Tazreen Fashions on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh that killed more than 110 workers, most of them women, the process against those responsible has finally begun. Overall, 13 people are being charged, among them the factory owner Delwar Hossain and his wife as well as security guards and managers.

"Delwar and his wife Mahmuda Akter... and 11 others have been charged with death due to negligence," confirmed police investigator AKM Mohsinuzzaman Khan when talking to AFP news agency. Local garment workers unions are disappointed with the charges as they had hoped to accuse those responsible of murder. However, if found guilty, the 13 accused will face life in prison and many see the charges as a rare step forward in a country where powerful factory owners often manage to avoid any punishment.

According to the charge sheet, the owners "flouted labor laws and constructed the building based on faulty planning and without any emergency exits". The incident is till date the country’s deadliest garment factory fire but was overshadowed only a few months later by the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in April 2013 in Savar that contained five garment factories and killed more than 1,100 workers.

The Bangladeshi government, unions and international brands and retailers have since pledged to improve conditions at the country’s 4,500-5,000 garment factories.