Turkish governorship allows probe into public officials for Feb. 6 quake deaths

A district governorship in Turkey has for the first time allowed an investigation into public officials' involvement in the collapse of a building during the Feb. 6 earthquakes. Three municipality officials face charges of "causing death and injury by negligence" and "misuse of office."

Wednesday July 17 2024 03:53 pm

Duvar English

Turkish public officials have faced investigation in earthquake inquiries for the first time regarding the collapse of Güneşli Kocabaş Houses that killed 69 and injured 16 in the southeastern Maraş province.

The prosecutor requested permission from the Dulkadiroğlu District Governorship to investigate Arzu Özaydın, acting head of the Dulkadiroğlu Municipality's Department of Urban Planning and Development at the time, electrical engineer Öner Gürbüzel, and architect Serap Binici, who were cited as having secondary responsibility in the expert report.

The governorship's committee reviewed the request, noting discrepancies in the concrete class used in the project versus what was specified in the reports, the use of unsuitable materials, and missing concrete pressure test reports for the 16th slab.

The Dulkadiroğlu District Governorship found that the officials failed to report these issues to the building inspection firm and approved the inspection service fees despite the discrepancies, violating building inspection regulations. The governorship authorized the investigation and sent the decision to the prosecutor's office.

Subsequently, an investigation was initiated against Özaydın, Gürbüzel, and Binici, who are still municipal employees, for "causing death and injury by negligence" and "misuse of office."

The investigation into the collapse of the apartment building, which had been occupied since 2019, led to the arrest of Ökkeş Say, a partner in the construction company, site manager Abdullah Üren, and building inspection firm supervisor Tebernüş Özyurt.

Following an expert report from Karadeniz Technical University, the prosecutor completed the investigation and filed charges against Say, Üren, Özyurt, Abdulkadir Tatar, Ahmet Say, Ali Taş, Kerim Sönmez, Mücahit Kır, and Ökkeş Kır for "causing death and injury by gross negligence," seeking 22.5-year prison sentences.

Filiz Besni, who lost her husband and daughter in the building collapse, expressed that the investigation into public officials was significant. "It is very positive that an investigation was opened against public officials. This decision made us very happy. Hopefully, everyone will be held accountable, and justice will prevail," she said.

Besni recounted the night of the earthquake when she found the site in ruins after being with her daughter. She mentioned that their building was severely shaken during the Elazığ earthquake of 2020, resulting in numerous cracks, which they reported to the site management and subsequently to the municipality.

Municipal officials inspected all blocks and assured them that only their block had settled and was safe to live in. However, their block was the first to collapse in this earthquake, and Besni demanded the harshest penalties for those responsible for the deaths of 69 people.