In the 7th Heavy Penal Court of Diyarbakır, the trial took place with the presence of the contractor of the building, Hüseyin B, who is being tried without arrest, and Nasir Ç., who approved the static reinforced concrete project. Cihan U., the author of the building’s static project from another province, also attended the trial through the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBIS). Another unarrested defendant, the technical responsible of the building, Ekrem B., did not attend the trial. In the courtroom, some victims and their lawyers were also present.
After the identification process, defendant Hüseyin B claimed that he was not the contractor of the building and had no knowledge about the project in question. He stated that he did not own any property in the building and denied the allegations against him, insisting that he was a victim.
The defendant Nasır Ç. stated that at the time of the building’s project, he was a board member of the Diyarbakır Branch of the Construction Chamber. He claimed that they were responsible for the approval process of the projects prepared for their members to implement, emphasizing that they did not have the authority to review or enforce the projects.
The defendant Cihan U. argued that he only prepared the static project of the building and that it was the responsibility of the municipality to ensure that the construction was carried out in accordance with the static project. He stated that he had not visited the building that collapsed during the construction phase and expressed his lack of knowledge about the project since he moved to Izmir in 1999.
The victims, who consider themselves aggrieved, claimed that they lost their relatives in the collapse of the building during the earthquake and alleged that the construction of a bridge interchange near the building caused the vibration. They also mentioned allegations of column cutting at the bank located under the building and demanded that those responsible be punished.
The prosecutor highlighted the need to address the deficiencies in the case file in his opinion. The court also decided to inquire about whether the bridge interchange construction in the area caused any damage to the surrounding buildings, determine if the ground in the area was marshy, and provide information about all the renovation projects for the bank under the building, by sending requests to the relevant institution, and adjourned the trial to October 14th.
The indictment of the case demands a sentence of up to 22 years and 6 months for each of the unarrested defendants – Hüseyin B, the contractor of the building, Cihan U, the author of the static project of the building, Nasir Ç, who approved the static concrete project, and Ekrem B, the technical responsible of the building – for causing the deaths and injuries of multiple people due to conscious negligence.
