Accident case drops due to statute of limitations

SAKARYA

41 died in the incident that happened in 2004 in Sakarya’s Pamukova district. DHA Photo

A criminal court in Sakarya dropped the case of a train accident that killed 41 and injured 90 people in Sakarya’s Pamukova district in 2004 due to the statute of limitations.
 
Mehmet Alaaddin Candan, father of one of the victims who died in the accident, said justice was not served and he may apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Candan’s lawyer Engin Baltacı said half of the crime was assigned to two train operators who were sentenced to 15 to 30 months in jail, but those responsible for the rest of the crime were missing.
“Who committed the crime then? Should we blame destiny? There are new evidences which make it essential to launch a new investigation,” Baltacı said.

Suspect Fikret Karabulut’s lawyer Salih Ekizler said he believed in his client’s innocence from the
beginning.

The incident happened in 2004 in Sakarya’s Pamukova district. Forty-one people died and 90 were injured due to railways being unready for a high-speed passenger train.

Although the Sakarya Court of Serious Crimes sentenced two train operators to between 15 and 30 months in prison, the Supreme Court of Appeal rejected the decision twice in 2009 and 2010 and the case was postponed to Feb. 7. Lawyers of the victims had demanded the investigation go further to determine the responsible officials and opposition parties had criticized the verdict.