Erdoğan’s massive smiling poster across collapsed hotel draws ire

A smiling poster of Erdoğan has been hung on the only standing building across the infamous İsias Hotel in the quake-hit Adıyaman province. Sixty-five people, 25 of whom were Northern Cypriot athletes, had lost their lives at the hotel during the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Thursday May 11 2023 12:12 am

Duvar English

A giant election campaign poster depicting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan smiling has been hung on the only standing building across İsias Hotel in the quake-hit Adıyaman province.

Sixty-five people had lost their lives at the hotel during the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) press and social media users reacted against the poster as among the 65 victims were 25 volleyball players aged just 12-14 from the TRNC.

Bugün Kıbrıs (Today's Cyprus in English) newspaper carried the incident to its headline and said, "A giant smiling poster of Erdoğan as the owner of the zoning amnesty was hung on a building that remained intact in the ravaged city.”

The newspaper depicted the photograph as the “picture of cruelty" with a subheading that said "poster that laughs at the cemetery."

BURASI İSİAS OTEL’İN KARŞISI!

🔴Adıyaman’da 6 Şubat depreminde kaybettiğimiz evlatlarımıza mezar olan İsias Otel’in karşısındaki binaya Erdoğan’ın dev posterini astılar. https://t.co/4OfDratVKo pic.twitter.com/vzkh1pIpzj
— Bugün Kıbrıs (@kibrisbugun) May 10, 2023

Six people were previously arrested with regards to the destruction of the hotel, including the infamous hotel's owner, managers, and construction supervisors.

The Bozkurt family, which owns the hotel, is known to be close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

One of the hotel's partners was an AKP member in the Adıyaman Municipality. The hotel manager was a member of the high advisory board of a foundation close to the AKP. These networks helped the hotel executives receive a license for the decayed building built with river sand and gravel.