Great destruction occurred in 10 provinces of Turkey due to the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake. While thousands of buildings were demolished in cities such as Hatay, Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Adana and Gaziantep, it turned out that the constructed structures were defective.
The process, which started when building contractors were caught and arrested one by one, reminded the 99 earthquake. After the earthquake called Gölcük, hundreds of lawsuits were filed, but the lawsuits were dropped due to the statute of limitations and amnesty.
About 24 years ago, Turkey was shaken by the Gölcük earthquake. It turned out that the buildings destroyed by the earthquake were not durable, and the contractors who caused the lives of thousands of people were caught and prosecuted.
However, many contractors took advantage of the amnesty and reductions in sentences issued at that time, and received short-term prison sentences. While it was stated that a similar process should not be experienced, the eyes were turned to the trial processes.
ONLY 18 PEOPLE PUNISHED FROM 2,100 CASES
After the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes, which happened one after the other, thousands of buildings were turned into rubble. While thousands of buildings turned into rubble in places such as Gaziantep İslahiye, Nurdağı, Adıyaman Center and Gölbaşı districts, especially in Hatay's Antakya district, no buildings remained undamaged. The Earthquake Investigation Bureau opened by the Ministry of Justice took action and started an investigation process.
While nearly 10 people have been arrested so far, the judicial process initiated after the Gölcük earthquake in 1999 came to mind. After the earthquake, investigations were initiated against many contractors, especially Veli Göçer, who was stated to be negligent, and trial processes were experienced.
In the earthquake that caused the death of 17 thousand 408 people, a total of 2,100 lawsuits were filed, accusing the contractors of using bad workmanship, cheap and inadequate materials. While 1,800 of the lawsuits were dropped due to legal loopholes, 110 of the 300 case investigations resulted in fines.
The cases were dropped due to the courts' decision to postpone the sentences and the statute of limitations. While only 18 people were sentenced out of 1,600 lawsuits filed in Kocaeli, Sakarya and Yalova, many were released without even seeing a prison. It was seen that the contractor named Veli Göçer, who became the symbolic name of the period, was sentenced to 18 years and 9 months in prison, and he was released after spending only 7.5 years in prison.
THERE ARE SIMILAR PROCESSES IN BINGOL AND VAN EARTHQUAKE
Due to the 6.4 earthquake in Bingöl, which occurred in the first years of the AK Party government, 177 people lost their lives. The most striking one among the buildings in which hundreds of buildings were destroyed or damaged was the Çeltiksuyu Pension Elementary School.
In the earthquake, in which 1 teacher and 84 students lost their lives, the contractor Şeref Bozkuş was sentenced to only 2.5 years. Bozkurt, who spent 1.5 years in prison, was later released. In 2011, 604 people lost their lives as a result of the 7.2 earthquake that occurred in the center of Van-Erciş.
After the earthquake, the first punishment was given to Tevfik Bayram, the owner of the Bayram Hotel. While Bayram was sentenced to 11 years for "causing the death of more than 1 person by conscious negligence", the Supreme Court of Appeals increased his prison term to 16 years. However, as a result of the decree issued in 2016, he was released after 4 years in prison. After the earthquake, no proper file was opened against any contractor or low prison sentences were given.
ONLY 10 CONTRACTORS FOUND GUILTY
The effects of the earthquake, the epicenter of which was Kahramanmaraş, continue to persist. An investigation was launched by the Ministry of Justice's Earthquake Crimes Investigation Bureau due to the lack of materials used in the construction of hundreds of buildings that collapsed from the foundation.
The bureau, which started working, started investigations about the contractors using the information collected by the prosecutors who went to the wrecks. Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun, the contractor of Rönesans Residence, which was built 3 years ago in Hatay and where hundreds of people lost their lives after it collapsed from its foundation, was caught and arrested recently when he was about to escape.
Hasan Alpargün, who was alleged to have used missing materials in the buildings he built in Adana and therefore wanted for the crime of "killing by negligence and causing injury", was caught and arrested in the TRNC, where he fled. While the number of contractors arrested so far has not reached even 10, the process regarding the demolished buildings continues. On the other hand, while it is stated that the judicial processes should not be limited to the contractors, it is expected that those responsible for condoning the constructions in the public will be brought to justice as soon as possible.