The trial of the Isias Hotel which collapsed causing the death of 72 people, including 35 Turkish Cypriot volleyball players and teachers, during the earthquakes that took place in Adıyaman, Türkiye on February 6 last year, began yesterday and took place at the Adıyaman 3rd High Criminal Court.
The complainant families are being heard at the court today for the Isias case. The families of the lost ones spoke about their experiences as witnesses before the judge. 10 defendants and the hotel owner, were heard at yesterday’s trial.
Isias Hotel’s owner Ahmet Bozkurt’s statements yesterday during the court astonished people and families who were there listening.
Owner of Grand Isias Hotel;
Claiming that the scientific data in the indictment was “false accusations”, Bozkurt denied the charges of “illegal additional floor to the building” and claimed that the 38-centimeter rubble found in the wreckage “belonged to the adjacent buildings”.
Ahmet Bozkurt said that he went to the collapsed hotel with his son Mehmet Fatih Bozkurt and that he had heard noises from the rubble for 3 days; However, he argued that there was nothing he could do as they did not have the equipment needed. Bozkurt claimed that people died because they froze to death, not because of the earthquake.
The Hotel shareholder Ahmet Bozkurt’s daughter Bilge Açik and his sons Efe Bozkurt and Mehmet Fatih Bozkurt were also questioned after Ahmet Bozkurt. Later on, Erdem Yıldız, Halil Bağcı, and Hasan Aslan who were mentioned to have been responsible for the drawing and construction of the Grand Isias Hotel building were also heard during the trial. However, none of the defendants have accepted the accusations or charges brought against them.
Faculty member at the EMU Faculty of Law Pervin Aksoy İpekcioğlu, who lost her daughter during the collapse of the Isias Hotel, asked a question as a complainant. İpekçioğlu requested the court to ask all those responsible to come before the court look them in the eye and give an answer.
Speaking on behalf of the families, lawyer Çetin Arslan pointed out the problems of interrogating the defendants via video conference in terms of the administration of justice and a fair trial.
