Hein Frey, the mine’s general manager, was given a suspended sentence of 24 months in prison and a $3,000-fine.
Daryl Chrystensen, director of a subcontracting company, Byrnecut Burkina, was found guilty of complicity in manslaughter and given a 12-month suspended sentence, plus a $1,500-fine.
A suspended sentence means the convicted person does not have to serve it immediately. The court orders it to be deferred for a certain period during which the defendant is on probation.
If the person does not break the law during that time and fulfills the particular conditions of the probation, the sentence is usually considered fulfilled.
If the defendant commits another offence or breaks the terms of probation, the court can order the sentence to be served, in addition to any sentence for the new offence.
Both the government of Burkina Faso and Trevali, which says it was caught off-guard by the flood, have opened investigations into…
