Villaggio mall fire verdict: families' statement

Five people have been jailed over the horrific Villaggio mall fire in Qatar today. Here is the official statement on behalf of the victims' families:

"We welcome today’s initial verdict. We are pleased that the court has chosen to find five people responsible.

"Today is a day to remember. To remember the 19 innocent people, including 13 of our beautiful children, killed last year in Villaggio. Loved ones, who will never see justice. Loved ones, we miss more with every day that passes.

"We are still awaiting to know what happened on 28 May 2012. The trial only gave us some answers. We still have more questions. To get these much needed answers, we call upon the State of Qatar to release the official report into the disaster. A simple request, that will help us all understand what went wrong.

"We are disgusted by Villaggio’s continual insensitive behaviour. Yesterday, Villaggio reopened the area destroyed by the fire. Not once have we been shown the dignity to be able to grieve privately where our children were killed.

"The owners and management, some of whom have been on trial, have shown us no remorse. They should be ashamed.

"We would like to thank the thousands of messages of support we have received in Qatar, our home nations and from around the world. We would also like to thank our legal team for guiding us through this traumatic and painful process. We will now be taking further advice on the next steps available to us in the judicial process.

"We will not stop in our fight for justice. We will not stop in our fight for the truth. We will not stop in ensuring that this can never happen again.”