Shareholders on trial over asbestos poisoning

The former owner of Swiss building materials firm Eternit and his top associate are being tried in absentia for negligence after the firm allegedly breached safety rules, leading to more than 2,000 deaths in Italy from asbestos-related diseases.

AFP - Two top former shareholders in the Swiss building materials firm Eternit went on trial Thursday for alleged negligence leading to more than 2,000 deaths in Italy from asbestos-related diseases.

So far 700 people have joined a class-action suit in connection with the trial in Turin, northern Italy, but victims' associations say the number could rise to 2,000.

Eternit's ex-owner, Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, and former top executive Jean-Louis de Cartier, a Belgian baron, are being tried in absentia.

Prosecutors accuse them of bearing ultimate responsibility for breaches in work safety rules that led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people and sickened several hundred others.

The victims -- who include employees as well as the residents of four Italian cities where the group had factories -- are expected to seek several hundred million euros (dollars) in compensation.

The two defendants face three to 12 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors say it is the biggest trial ever held on the effects of exposure to blue asbestos, a highly dangerous fibrous mineral that was banned in Italy in 1992.
 

Date created : 2009-12-10