Justice for Soma

Ten years have passed since the Soma mining disaster, in which 301 miners lost their lives due to carbon monoxide poisoning. None of the defendants tried in the case regarding the disaster, which was clearly foreseeable, are currently in custody.

On the 10th anniversary of the disaster, public officials have begun to be tried for the first time. The first hearing of the case, in which 28 public officials are being tried, was held on May 8. At the hearing, attended by defendants, representatives of bar associations, lawyers, and the families of those who lost their lives in the disaster, the relatives of the miners stated that they have not been able to find justice for 10 years and expressed their desire to intervene in the case.

Manisa Bar Association President Attorney Ümit Rona stated in his remarks, “This is not an ordinary work-related murder, it is not a work accident; this is a great massacre. We have a conscientious and historical responsibility. As the Manisa Bar Association, since the duty to protect and defend human rights and also to defend and protect the rule of law has been given to bar associations by law, with the power we derive from Article 76 of the Attorneyship Law, we want to be a party to this case. The requests of the families, who are the relatives of those who lost their lives in the massacre, to participate here must also be accepted.” The case, in which the requests of the Manisa and İzmir Bar Associations and the Independent Mine Workers' Union (Bağımsız Maden-İş) to intervene were rejected, was adjourned to September 12, 2024.

The Istanbul Bar Association also issued a written statement, asking the question, “Why was 10 years waited for the investigation permit in Soma?” and stated, “The fact that the trial of 28 public officials for the mining disaster could only begin on its 10th anniversary is yet another violation of the principle of a fair trial.”

The findings in the statement, which notes that “although expert reports stated that the institutions authorized and responsible for inspection ignored and turned a blind eye to issues contrary to legislation and mining techniques, both ministries did not grant investigation permits for these public officials for years,” are noteworthy.

The statement, which says, “The trial of public officials could only be paved following the decision of the Constitutional Court on January 29, 2020, regarding the ‘violation of the right to life,’ upon the individual application made by the relatives of the miners who lost their lives in this disaster as a last resort so that the public officials who had negligence and faults could be tried,” continues as follows: “The fact that the trial of 28 public officials, including labor inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, whose various responsibilities in our country’s largest work accident have been determined by expert reports, could only begin on the 10th anniversary of the mining disaster is yet another violation of the principle of a fair trial. Why was 10 years waited for the investigation permit? In the indictment, which could be prepared in approximately 3 years regarding these 28 public officials who had negligence and faults in the accident, the suspects were only charged with the crime of ‘misconduct in office.’”

The Bar Association also lists the deficiencies it observes and demands that those responsible be punished for causing death through conscious negligence or probable intent.

“It is also a deficiency that the prosecution did not request the punishment of the public officials who had varying degrees of fault and responsibility in this incident, which caused the death of 301 miners and the injury of 162 miners, for ‘causing the death of 301 people and the injury of 162 people through conscious negligence’ or ‘causing death through probable intent.’ Although the Soma 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, which will try the 28 public officials, cannot return the indictment due to the legal classification of the crime according to Article 174/2 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK), the incomplete and superficial investigation deficiencies made in the indictment ‘despite 10 years’ must be remedied due to the possibility of the nature and character of the crime changing in the later stages of the trial. We will continue to follow the process.”

May 13, 2014; went down in history as one of the darkest days not only for our country but for all of human history. We lost 301 lives in a mine where human life was cheaper than anything else, under the most brutal conditions. Negligence, faults, things ignored… The pain is still fresh…

Today, as it has been for 10 years in Soma, the most fundamental demand is: Justice!

Families and workers want there to be no more Somas, for those responsible to be held accountable before the law, for an end to the hell of subcontracting and the greed for profit that disregards human life, and for an environment to be provided where people live and work humanely.

They want justice for Soma…