Scandalous ruling in Elit Apartment case: No defendants left in custody!

In the case regarding the Elit Apartment, which collapsed in Hatay during the February 6, 2023, Maraş-centered earthquakes, resulting in the deaths of 88 people, a decision was made to release the detained defendants, contractor Mithat Tümyürek and building inspection firm owner Gökhan Tutar, to house arrest. 

88 people lost their lives in the Elit Apartment, which collapsed in the Ekinci neighborhood of Hatay's Antakya district during the February 6 earthquakes. The Hatay Chief Public Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit against contractor Mithat Tümyürek, building owner Akil İnan, building inspection supervisor Gökhan Tutar, static project author Mehmet Yılmaz, contractor firm official Bilal Alkanlı, site manager Burak K., and project and application auditor Mustafa K. on charges of "causing the death and injury of more than one person through conscious negligence." 

According to the report by ANKA News Agency, the fourth hearing of the Elit Apartment case was held at the Hatay 5th High Criminal Court. The detained defendants, contractor Mithat Tümyürek and building inspection firm owner Gökhan Tutar, attended the hearing via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS).

In the previous hearing, it had been decided to request documents from the Antakya Municipality regarding the allegation that "a 145 thousand lira donation was made to the municipality's soup kitchen for the building that had been sealed for a period by contractor Mithat Tümyürek." Since the document did not arrive for this session, most of the families did not attend today's hearing, thinking it would be postponed.

Taking the floor at the hearing, Tümyürek and Tutar repeated their previous defenses, claiming they were not at fault.

The court decided to release the 2 defendants to house arrest.

'THE COURT PANEL CHANGED THREE TIMES, NO DETAINED DEFENDANTS LEFT'

Tolga Ünlü, one of the lawyers for the complainants, stated that the release decision came while they were waiting for reports from the municipality and the status of the investigation into public officials, adding that it was an unexpected situation.

Stating that the court panel had changed three times within a year, Ünlü said, "It had changed in the last session, and Akil İnan was released. In this session, it was Mithat Tümyürek and Gökhan Tutar. There are currently no detained defendants left in the file. Mithat Tümyürek was claiming to be ill, but no report regarding his illness has arrived. We are surprised by the decision, and the families are very reactive," he said.

News Source: 12punto