A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced six people to jail, including the owner and the architect of the Isais hotel which collapsed in a devastating earthquake in 2023, prompting outrage in the north according to reports on Thursday.

The hotel’s collapse in the southern Turkish city of Adiyaman killed 72 people, including 35 Turkish Cypriots who were representing a Famagusta volleyball team.

Out of 11 defendants, five were found innocent, including the hotel owner’s daughter Efe Bozkur.

The court in Adıyaman sentenced the hotel owner Ahmet Bozkurt to 18 years and five months in prison for “causing the death or injury of more than one person through conscious negligence,” AFP reported.

His son Mehmet Fatih Bozkurt was sentenced to 17 years and four months in jail and architect Erdem Yılmaz got 18 years and five months on the same charges.

The north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel called the sentences too lenient and said they would take the case to a higher court.

“The hotel owners did not get the punishment we had expected…But despite that, everyone from those responsible in the hotel’s construction to the architect was sentenced. That made us partially happy.”   

Rusen Karakay, who chairs the Keeping the Champion Angels Alive Association, setup in memory of the killed children said she was disappointed by the outcome, according to reports in the north.

She described the jail sentences as “the first ones” and stressed they would continue their fight until justice is truly served.

“We gave a promise to our loved ones and we will keep it.”

The families have fought to have the defendants charged with intentionally killing the 72 victims, as opposed to causing death through negligence.

More than 50,000 people died in Turkey and Syria in the quake on 6 February 2023.

Some 160,000 buildings collapsed or were badly damaged, leaving 1.5 million people homeless.

A group of 39 Turkish Cypriots, including children, teachers and parents had travelled to Adiyaman for a volleyball tournament when the earthquake struck.

Four parents were the only survivors among them. They managed to dig themselves out of the rubble, while 35 others including all the children were killed.

A scientific analysis on the Isias, which has been operating since 2001, found that gravel and sand from the local river had been mixed with other construction materials to form the columns supporting the building.