Two senior figures involved in the construction of part of a huge Turkish residential complex that collapsed in the 2023 earthquake have been jailed for more than 18 years, local media reported on Wednesday.
An aerial view shows damaged and collapsed buildings following an earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on February 7, 2023. . Photos by AFP file
The case concerned an eight-storey tower block at the Ebrar complex in the southeastern city of Kahramanmaras, Turkey's private NTV broadcaster said.
There were 22 such blocks in the complex, nearly all of which collapsed when the first 7.8-magnitude tremor struck before dawn on February 6, 2023, killing 1,400 people.
Wednesday's verdict related to the collapse of Block B where 115 people died, NTV said, with the judge handing senior contractor Tevfik Tepebasi and Atilla Oz, head of the cooperative that built the block, 18 years and eight months each for "causing death and injury through conscious negligence".
There were four other defendants in the case, three of whom were acquitted for lack of evidence, while the fourth was being tried in absentia, NTV said.
Tepebasi — who was jailed shortly after the quake and is being prosecuted in several other quake-related cases — caused an uproar at one hearing a year ago when he told the court he should not be charged with a crime because: "I don't know anything about construction."
Quoted by NTV, several of the victims' families said they were not satisfied with the sentences and the fact that three defendants were acquitted, saying they would appeal.
The earthquake killed more than 53,500 people in Turkey and nearly 6,000 in neighbouring Syria. It also razed 39,000 buildings and left another 200,000 severely damaged, leaving nearly two million people homeless.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed the finger at negligent building contractors, accusing them of cutting corners by using cheap concrete and ignoring basic construction standards, with more than 200 contractors and developers arrested in the immediate aftermath of the quake.
But there have been few, if any, investigations into the public officials who signed off on building permits and safety inspections, which can only be opened with the interior ministry's permission.