Kartalkaya fire case: What happened in the first hearing?

The first hearing of the Grand Kartal Hotel fire case in Bolu-Kartalkaya is being held. Bolu Mayor Sinan Barut said that the first round of hearings will last about 15 days.

The first hearing of the case in which a total of 32 defendants, 19 of whom are under arrest, will be tried in relation to the fire that occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya, in which 78 people lost their lives and 133 people were injured , is being held. The hearing was adjourned until 21:00.

Bolu President Sinan Barut stated that the first round of hearings will last for 15 days and said, “As we have stated, the hearing is expected to be held every day and continue. The hearing will probably continue until 22:00-23:00 outside of working hours. ”

Barut stated that the Union of Turkish Bar Associations and Bolu Bar Association requested to join the case but the presiding judge rejected this request, and that they, as the Bolu Bar Association, will object to the rejection decision.

Due to the insufficient capacity of the courtrooms at the Bolu Courthouse, the Bolu Social Sciences High School Sports Hall was converted into a 700-person courtroom for the hearing held at the Bolu 1st High Criminal Court. Security cameras were installed in the hall, the interior and exterior of which were painted. A state-of-the-art sound system was installed in the hall, and an internet line was installed for UYAP connection. It was learned that the first hearing could last a week due to the large number of defendants, complainants and lawyers for the parties.

At the hearing, the defendants under arrest, the owners of the Grand Kartal Hotel, company board members and managers Halit Ergül, Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, Elif Aras, Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, Kadir Özdemir, Cemal Özer, Mehmet Salun, Deputy Mayor of Bolu Municipality Sedat Gülener, Deputy Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun and Firefighter İrfan Acar, as well as the defendants who are not under arrest, their lawyers, and the complainants who lost their loved ones in the fire and their lawyers were present.

The hearing, which began under heavy security measures, was attended by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, TBMM Kartalkaya Hotel Fire Investigation Commission Chairman and AK Party MP Selami Altınok, AK Party MP Ali İhsan Yavuz, Democrat Party Chairman Gültekin Uysal, Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, CHP MPs Sibel Suiçmez, Umut Akdoğan, Ümit Özlale, Mahmut Tanal, Zeliha Aksaz Şahbaz, Anahtar Party Chairman Yavuz Ağıralioğlu as spectators. Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Özden Kaboğlu, Ankara Bar Association President Mustafa Köroğlu and several bar association presidents were also present at the hearing.

Attorney Yüksel Gültekin, who lost 8 relatives in the fire disaster, asked to speak before the hearing began. When the judge gave the floor, Güner said, “I will not speak as an attorney, so I am taking off my robe. I do not want this case to be politicized. As an attorney, I believe in the individuality of the crime. Those who are guilty in this case should receive the maximum sentence. 8 out of 78 lives were mine. My son was a Boğaziçi graduate. Every life was precious. How did you consent to 78 lives being burned while saving your own child? We will of course make every effort to ensure that you are punished in the most severe way, but we will also have both hands on you in the afterlife. The defendants brought before the court are a portion of the guilty. However, in this case, the Minister of Tourism and the officials of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security are just as guilty as the people who are guilty. We will do our best to have them tried.”

The indictment states that the owners of the Grand Kartal Hotel, company board members and managers Halit Ergül, Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, Elif Aras, Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, Kadir Özdemir, Cemal Özer, Mehmet Salun, as well as Bolu Municipality Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Deputy Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun and Firefighter İrfan Acar are "responsible for possible intent."

The indictment also seeks prison sentences for 13 people for 78 counts of “probable premeditated murder” and “probable premeditated wounding.”

The hotel's technical staff Tahsin Pekcan, Hüseyin Özer and Bayram Ütkü, as well as kitchen staff Reşat Bölük, Enver Öztürk and Faysal Yaver and occupational safety experts Kübra Demir and Ece Kayacan, Bolu Provincial Special Administration Secretary General Sırrı Köstereli, Bolu Provincial Special Administration Deputy Secretary General Bünyamin Bal, Bolu Provincial Special Administration Licensing and Inspection Manager Yeliz Erdoğan and former Bolu Provincial Special Administration Licensing and Inspection Manager Mehmet Özel are being sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison for "causing the death and injury of more than one person through conscious negligence."

Relatives of those who lost their lives in the fire tragedy waited in front of the sports hall where the hearing would be held, holding signs that read, “You think that it is always people you do not know who will die,” “The price of signatures is paid before the law,” “Ashes cool down, conscience does not,” “Not negligence, possible intent,” and “Not negligence, massacre in plain sight.”

Before the hearing, the families who lost their loved ones in the fire made a press statement. The statement was read on behalf of the families by the mother Zeynep Kotan, who lost her son Ömür in the fire.

“That night, not only was there a fire, but a massacre took place that night, which was obvious, deliberate and unprevented. This is not neglect, this is murder,” the statement reads:

“We have followed everything and are continuing to do so. We know about the inspection report that was prepared only a month before the incident and clearly showed the lack of fire precautions in the hotel, but was withdrawn by the hotel owners, saying ‘These precautions are too costly’. We also know about the property officials who turned a blind eye to this negligence, that the fire started earlier than stated, that the rescue operation was carried out only for privileged guests at the time of the fire, that all hotel managers and staff were saved, that the golden time clearly stated in the expert report was used not to save our lives but to remove the hotel owners’ vehicles, and the camera recordings whose decisive evidence was deleted. We now have only one expectation: The trial process should be conducted with transparency and all the facts should come to light.”

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, who attended the first hearing regarding the Grand Kartal Hotel fire, said, “Today, some of the defendants are finally before the judge. But the people who should be the main defendants are not before the judge today. There is only one person responsible for this, and that is the Minister of Tourism.”

Özgür Özel emphasized that this case should not remain unattended, “The important thing is to follow this process from the first day to the last day, to be there when everything is slowly changing towards the end and to follow the idea. I am not in a position to tell this to the reporter friends here. They do this with great professional passion, but I will remind the people in the media organizations in Istanbul and Ankara who are assigned to follow these cases and who sit at the heads of authorized desks. I will remind all politicians. I will remind all civil society organizations,” he said.

Ozgur Ozel continued as follows:

“As the Republican People’s Party, we will follow this case closely, no matter who it touches or where it leads, we will make sure that the criminals are punished, and that everyone learns their own lesson from this, no matter who it is, so that such things do not happen again through public learning. We hope that the most fair and effective trial will be held as soon as possible. In this regard, especially our friends in the relevant committee, especially the provincial deputy and our experienced lawyer deputy friends will follow the issue closely. I will continue to be here during the critical days of the case and follow the issue. That’s all I have to say about this issue.”