Striking claim from Tanju Özcan regarding the prosecutors assigned to the fire investigation! 'I am receiving very dirty information...'

78 citizens lost their lives in the fire that broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center. 12 people have been detained in the investigation conducted into the disaster.

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç had announced that 6 public prosecutors had been assigned to the fire investigation and a 7-person expert committee had been formed.

While the 'responsibility' debate between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the CHP-run Bolu Municipality continues following the disaster in which 78 people lost their lives, Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan made striking statements regarding the investigation during a live broadcast.

Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan connected to the "Açıkça" program hosted by Gökmen Karadağ on Halk TV and made statements regarding the investigation launched into the fire disaster.

Connecting to the 'Açıkça' program hosted by Gökmen Karadağ on Halk TV, Özcan alleged that pressure was being applied to the prosecutors and expert witnesses during the investigation process to claim that the fire started in the cafe on the lower floor, not in the kitchen on the 4th floor.

Stating that there is an attempt to demolish the hotel as soon as possible to cover up evidence, Özcan said, "I am receiving very dirty information. The Ministry of Justice had said that it had appointed 6 prosecutors and an expert committee. They said this in the press. Now we are receiving very strong reports that 4 of the prosecutors have been removed from their posts and that the expert witness has been removed. Why? Because there are allegations that pressure is being applied to insist on finding the municipality guilty," he said.

Özcan's statement is as follows:

"You asked a question insistently. Was the Ministry aware of the report held by the Bolu Municipality? The Ministry did not request this document from us; the operator did. Therefore, I do not know if they submitted this to the Ministry.

WHERE ARE THE 2021 AND 2024 INSPECTION REPORTS?

The Minister made a statement there on the day of the fire. He said, 'We inspected this hotel in 2021 and 2024.' Now I ask, why are the inspection reports not being disclosed? I sent the visual at the entrance of the neighboring hotel to my Deputy Chairman. The same sign was also at this hotel. It says there, 'This hotel is inspected by the Ministry of Tourism.' And underneath, there is the seal of the Ministry of Tourism.

THEY WANT TO DEMOLISH THE HOTEL

What happened today? The hotel was sealed. They want to demolish it. Let me explain why they want to demolish it. That hotel is 8 stories on one side and 12 stories on the other. There is a 70-square-meter cafe in the form of an extension that used to be on the 12-story side. They gave it a fire adequacy certificate, not a license or anything; they asked us for it instead of other fire departments. Why did they ask us? Not because we are the authorized fire department, but because we are the competent fire department.

ALLEGATION THAT 4 PROSECUTORS WERE REMOVED

I am receiving very dirty information. The Ministry of Justice had said that it had appointed 6 prosecutors and an expert committee. They said this in the press. Now we are receiving very strong reports that 4 of the prosecutors have been removed from their posts and that the expert witness has been removed. Why? Because there are allegations that pressure is being applied to insist on finding the municipality guilty. These are very serious allegations. We are receiving such strong reports because the expert committee and some prosecutors resisted this and wanted to write the truth. We are investigating this matter."