Court freezes all assets belonging to Soma Holding

MANİSA – Doğan News Agency

Mock coffins and helmets placed by protesters are pictured during a demonstration, blaming the ruling AKP government on the mining disaster that happened in western Turkey, in Istanbul. REUTERS Photo

Soma’s 1st Criminal Court of First Instance has ordered a freeze to all properties, allowances and assets of Soma Holding, the operator of the coal mine in the western province of Manisa where 301 miners were killed on May 13.

Hakan Kahraman, a lawyer for the parents of Mustafa Kocabaş, one of the miners killed in the Soma mine disaster, filed a claim for compensation to the Soma Courthouse. Kahraman demanded the court to place a freeze on the assets of Soma Holding.

The court also demanded information about the company’s bank accounts and properties. The court also sent the decision of an injunction to the Energy Ministry, the Turkish Coal Institute (TKİ), all banks, police departments and land title offices.

The company’s chairman, Can Gürkan, and general manager, Ramazan Doğru, are still under arrest along with several other officials while the owner, Alp Gürkan, is being probed on charges of fraud.

The investigation into the disaster has raised eyebrows after it was discovered that the expert who inspected the mine for the prosecution, Ahmet Ertürk, was the husband of the Labor Ministry’s expert, Ayşe Ertürk.

The accident also drew attention to the subcontracting system that has been spreading across the country.