Trial over hotel collapse which killed 35 Cypriots resumes (Updated)

The trial of the 11 people who are held responsible for the deaths of 24 Cypriot children and 11 of their teachers and coaches when the hotel in which they were staying collapsed is to resume on Friday.

The Isias hotel in the Turkish city of Adiyaman collapsed on February 6 last year during the earthquakes which hit the region, killing the 35 Cypriots and 47 others.

The Cypriots made up the Famagusta Turk Maarif Koleji (TMK) school volleyball team and were in Adiyaman for a tournament. Following their deaths, the team received the nickname “champion angels”.

A total of 11 people stand accused of “causing death by conscious negligence” at Adiyaman’s third High criminal court, and, if found guilty, could face a maximum of 22 and a half years in prison each.

Court proceedings began with the presiding judge calling forward the defendants to speak regarding a report released on the structure of the building by Ankara’s Gazi University.

The hotel’s owner Ahmet Bozkurt denied all wrongdoing, saying he “does not accept” the accusations that “miscalculations” were made during the hotel’s construction.

“I do not accept these accusations. The engineers, architects, and accountants who were on the project did their job very well,” he said.

He added, “I do not accept any wrongdoing. I did my job right. I used all kinds of materials correctly.”

Erdem Yildiz, the hotel’s architect, who is also a defendant in the case, said documents had been forged and his signature had appeared in places he had not signed.

Civil engineer Halil Bagci and Ahmet Bozkurt’s son Mehmet Fatih both also denied all accusations.

The dead children’s families were then called to speak, with Betul Celiktas, whose daughter Osman was among those killed, saying “my son came here happily and died in the building. I watched shovels of soil being thrown on my son.”

The prosecution then requested that expert opinions on the building be heard, but the defence objected. As such proceedings were then adjourned.

Eventually, architecture professor at Famagusta’s Eastern Mediterranean University Yonca Hurol was allowed to speak.

She reiterated previous findings in technical reports that sand and gravel from a local river had been used in the building’s construction, and that various other corners had been cut regarding the building’s safety during construction.

She pointed out that a 2.5 metre hole had been drilled through the centre of the building, and that seven holes which had been drilled allowed water to seep into the supporting beams.

She said a total of 98 building regulations had not been followed, ands that the building “would have either had to have been demolished or seriously reinforced” to become compliant.

Defence lawyers asked her what effect cutting a hole in the outer supporting wall would have had.

She answered that in weakening the outer structure, the building rotated when pressure was applied by the earthquake, causing it to collapse. “We can see this in the photographs of the Isias,” she added.

One of the defence lawyers then said he would not listen to what Hurol had to say.

Another expert, Serhan Sensoz, was then called upon to speak, and explained that in the initial EMU study, it was found that a total of 59 columns in the building gave way within 20 seconds of the earthquake beginning.

He added that the building had collapsed within 16 seconds.

Lawyer Pervin Ipekcioglu, whose daughter Serin was among those killed, then pointed out discrepancies between the reports filed by the Gazi University and Trabzon’s Karadeniz Technical University and said a third opinion on the matter should be sought.

She added that Halil Bagci should be held in custody, having been released on the strength of the Gazi University report in March.

Feriha Yigitturk, whose son Ihsan was also among those killed, said, “the defendants say they did everything well. Engineering is a branch of science. If everything was done properly, the building would have been a shelter and not a tomb.”

She then reiterated the families’ demand that all 11 defendants be tried for possibly intentionally killing the 72 who died at the hotel.

The Gazi University report generated controversy as it had been much less scathing than other reports released by Trabzon’s Karadeniz Technical University and the Istanbul Technical University.

Murat Aktugrali, whose son Aras was among those killed, described the Gazi University report as “very incomplete and technically unequipped”, and said that families of those killed would now demand a new technical report be commissioned.

He added that the investigation into the case “should be expanded”, and that “state officials should be included in the case file”.

The trial is being attended by the families of the 24 children, who will be joined in the court’s viewing gallery by high-profile Turkish Cypriot figures including the north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel, ‘education minister’ Nazim Cavusoglu, Cyprus Turkish bar association chairman Hasan Esendagli, and other ‘ministers’ and ‘MPs’.

Speaking ahead of the trial on Thursday evening, Rusen Yucesoylu Karakaya, whose daughter Selin was among those killed, said, “we will defend our case as always”.

“Coming to Adiyaman was difficult, but we will overcome it. Neither fatigue nor pain will deter us. Tomorrow, we will show the criminals all the facts and they will regret it. Science will prevail,” she said.

She added that the Isias case will “set a precedent”, and that “our fight is for the champion angels as well as everyone who lost their lives in the earthquakes.”

Meanwhile, Adiyaman mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere told news website Kibrisli Gazete that “the pain in this city is still fresh and consciences are continuing to bleed.”

Tutdere, who belongs to opposition party the CHP, was elected to office in Turkey’s historic local elections last month, and said “our people gave us a new duty after March 31”.

He said his municipality has begun working to make changes to planning laws to protect against future earthquakes, and that he is in contact with the Turkish parliament on the matter.

“Continuing the system with the current pre-earthquake regulations without changing the laws will leave us unprepared for future natural disasters,” he said.

He added that the “necessary legal studies” must be carried out, and that the Turkish parliament must implement their findings.