A supplementary expert report has found no causal link between renovation work at a ground-floor bakery and the collapse of a Kahramanmaraş apartment block in which 19 people died in the February 2023 earthquakes, Anadolu Agency (AA) and Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported on Friday. The court hearing the case adjourned until 5 January 2027.
The A block of the two-block Fazilet Apartmanı in the Mimar Sinan neighbourhood of Onikişubat district collapsed in the 6 February 2023 earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye. The trial over the collapse is being heard at the Kahramanmaraş 4th High Criminal Court.
What the new report says
According to AA and DHA, the additional report examined renovations carried out before the earthquake at a bakery on the building’s ground floor. It concluded that the work was not directed at the building’s load-bearing system, and that a causal link between the renovations and the collapse therefore could not be established. ANKA news agency reported the same finding.
Defendants and charges
Thirteen defendants are on trial on charges of causing the deaths and injuries of more than one person through conscious negligence, AA and DHA reported. Prosecutors are seeking prison terms of up to 22 years and six months for each defendant. DHA and ANKA said ten of the defendants are municipal employees or public officials.
At Friday’s hearing, the building’s contractor, who was also its structural project designer, rejected responsibility for the collapse and asked for a further expert report, according to AA, DHA and ANKA. AA and ANKA reported that he pointed out that the building’s other block had not suffered comparable damage. A defendant who issued the building’s occupancy permit as a municipal employee asked to be acquitted, AA and DHA reported.
Next hearing in January
The court gave the parties time to respond to the supplementary report, ruled that the defendants’ current status should continue, and postponed the trial to 5 January 2027, the agencies reported. DHA said the next session is set for final defence statements and a ruling.
For the government’s programme to replace risky housing stock, see Türkiye’s urban renewal programme.
Sources
- Kahramanmaraş’ta Fazilet Apartmanı davasında fırın tadilatı raporu dosyaya girdi (AA / Son Dakika)
- Fazilet Apartmanı davasında ek rapor fırın tadilatını 19 ölümlü yıkıma bağlamadı (DHA / Son Dakika)
- Fazilet Apartmanı davasında ek raporda 8 kamu görevlisi asli kusurlu bulundu (ANKA / Son Dakika)
Photo: Fatih Renkligil / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
