FEBRUARY 6 EARTHQUAKES:
Criminal complaint against experts who find suspects 'faultless' for collapsed buildings
In Hatay, one of the buildings that collapsed in the earthquakes on February 6 was the Ilgım Apartment.
Lawyer Duygu Bingöllü, who lost relatives in this building, filed a criminal complaint against the experts who prepared the expert report, after the release of the building's contractor and the construction supervisor following the report in the investigation being carried out.
Lawyer Bingöllü stated, "This building was 3.5 years old and was advertised as 'earthquake-resistant.'"
"Experts never visited the site"
Duygu Bingöllü listed the deficiencies in the report in her statement to bianet:
"All examinations were based on the documents submitted by the suspects to the construction inspection company during the licensing stage, plus a test conducted on a single core sample. In other words, 95% of the examined documents consist of those submitted by the suspects, whom we, as complainants, claim to have committed irregularities, during the construction phase... In addition, no soil study or liquefaction test was conducted during the examination, and the experts never visited the site."
Bingöllü also added that witnesses were not heard during the expert examination, and no action was taken against the responsible authorities.
Court disregards previous escape attempts
Based on the expert report, the Hatay 1st Peace Criminal Court had ruled for the release of the contractor Salih Zorsu and the building inspection supervisor Edip Talipoğlu, who were arrested on charges of "causing death and injury by negligence."
However, as it is stated in the criminal complaint, Edip Talipoğlu, the building inspection supervisor, was caught as a fugitive in Didim during the investigation initiated by the Hatay Public Prosecutor's Office and the contractor Salih Zorsu could only be captured days later.
Lawyer Bingöllü stated that the court that issued the release order disregarded the previous escape attempts.
“We waited for days but nobody came”
Duygu İnegöllü's husband's aunt Lale Portakaldalı, her husband Sercan (Sercio) Portakaldalı, and their daughters Asel and Arven lost their lives in the Ilgım Apartment.
Lawyer İnegöllü described their experiences after the February 6 earthquake as follows:
"We reached the building on February 7. For days, we begged for help for our relatives through social media, journalists, and celebrities... No one came. Volunteers mostly worked for half a day, saying there is no sign of life, and then left.
We could reach them on the 8th day. Almost all the bodies found were in very bad condition, with no bodily integrity. Most of them were in the fetal position, trying to protect their heads, but there was no smallest space that could be a living area in the building...
Then we entered the investigation stage, but even then, no one took any action. Prosecutors changed every 15 days. We obtained a warrant for forced arrest, and the contractor and construction supervisor were arrested. However, they were released when this report came. Their aim is to exonerate everyone before the investigations even turn into lawsuits..."
(AS/PE)