Lawsuit seeks up to 22 years for four in deadly Hatay collapse

HATAY

A lawsuit has been filed against four individuals seeking up to 22 years in prison in connection with the collapse of residences in Hatay that resulted in 169 deaths during last year’s earthquakes in southern Türkiye.

Defendants face charges of "causing the death of more than one person by conscious negligence," Anadolu Agency reported on Sept. 10.

The indictment, accepted by a local court, seeks up to 22 years and six months in prison for Mehmet Özat, a detained defendant, Abdullah Aytaç K., who is still at large, and non-arrested defendants Erten E. and Mehmet İhsan A.

The charges stem from the collapse of six seven-story blocks in the Antakya district's Cebrail neighborhood in February 2023.

The indictment cites a lack of building permits, static projects, accounting reports and ground survey information for the collapsed structures, which were constructed between 1994 and 1996.

An expert report included in the indictment also highlighted construction flaws, such as non-ribbed reinforcement, poorly executed iron reinforcement and irregular stirrup placement in columns and beams.

Özat was apprehended last November in the parking lot of a shopping mall in the capital Ankara after being reported by Sinem Boyacı, who lost nine family members in the earthquake.

He claimed the contractor responsible for the buildings was Nurettin M., who had died before the earthquake. Two other defendants echoed this claim.