UK Athletics & head of sport charged with manslaughter after Paralympian died when metal throwing cage fell on him
UK Athletics Limited and the body’s former head of sport have been charged with manslaughter after a Paralympian died when a metal throwing cage fell on him.
Abdullah Hayayei was killed during a training session at Newham Leisure Centre, in London, in July 2017.
The Crown Prosecution Service said UK Athletics Ltd has been charged with corporate manslaughter and a Health and Safety at Work Act offence.
Their former head of sport Keith Davies, 77, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offence.
United Arab Emirates shot putter Hayayei, 36, died after being struck by a metal pole in the incident.
The tragedy happened while he was training ahead of the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London.
Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds everyone that criminal proceedings are active and both UK Athletics Ltd and Davies have the right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
UK Athletics and Davies will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on January 31.
Hayayei was training for the World Para-athletics Championships in London at the time of the incident.
The United Arab Emirates thrower had been set to compete in the shot put, discus and javelin F34 events.
Hayayei, a father of five, finished sixth in the javelin F34 and seventh in the F34 shot put when making his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016.
London 2017 was due to be his second appearance at a World Championships. At the 2015 event in Doha, Qatar, Hayayei finished fifth in the discus F34 and eighth in the shot put F34.