RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Rio de Janeiro state court acquitted the last remaining defendants accused of responsibility in a 2019 fire that swept through the sleeping quarters of an academy for Brazil’s popular professional soccer club Flamengo, killing 10 teenage players.

They were accused of causing the fire due to negligence, and in May prosecutors had asked for their conviction. But Tuesday’s ruling stated that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the defendants had directly contributed to the fire. The decision can be appealed.

“Criminal liability cannot be assigned to someone solely based on the position they held, without concrete proof of a decisive action or omission leading to the outcome,” according to the Rio state court’s statement published Wednesday.

Eleven people w

See Full Page