Tense moments in Emre Apartment trial: Defendant removed from courtroom

The Emre Apartment, located in the Batıkent neighborhood of Gaziantep's Şehitkamil district, also collapsed during the "disaster of the century" centered in Kahramanmaraş. 49 people who were trapped under the rubble of the 11-story building lost their lives, and 17 others were injured. The 6th hearing of the ongoing trial regarding the collapsed building was held at the Gaziantep 9th High Criminal Court. The hearing was attended by the detained defendants, contractors Ali E. and Ahmet Y., as well as architect Erol Ö. and engineer Nazım T., who were released under judicial control, along with lawyers for the parties, relatives of the victims, and relatives of the defendants.

DEFENDANTS DENY CHARGES

Taking the floor during the hearing, one of the defendants, Ahmet Y., who claimed that he sold the Emre Apartment when only the 2nd floor was completed, stated, “I did everything correctly. The building did not collapse due to my responsibility. Municipal teams came and issued the license. Changes were made to the building after it was taken from me. There is no situation related to me.”

"MATERIALS WERE STOLEN DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS BUILDING BEFORE I TOOK OVER"

Defending that he did nothing wrong in the building, defendant Ali E. said, “I have been in prison for 20 months. I bought this building in 1999. When I bought it, the license had already been issued. The building was already finished when the license was obtained. I am as much a victim as everyone else here. I was also defrauded. I want whoever is guilty to be revealed. Let the reports come out. Materials were stolen during the construction of this building before I took over the construction. I want all of this to come to light. I am willing to stay in prison for the truth to emerge. Fake documents were created before I bought this building. I want these documents to be revealed. All I want is for the real culprit to be found.”

DEFENDANT REMOVED FROM COURTROOM AFTER SHOCKING DEMAND

Meanwhile, tense moments occurred between defendant Ali E. and the presiding judge during the hearing. While making his defense, defendant Ali E. implied that the presiding judge should voluntarily recuse himself from the case. Upon this, the presiding judge ordered the defendant to be removed from the courtroom. After the defendant was removed, his lawyer continued the defense.

Lawyers for the victims' families, who took the floor during the hearing, demanded that the defendants remain in custody and that if there are other guilty parties, they should also be arrested.

TRIAL ADJOURNED TO DECEMBER 26, 2024

The court panel decided to have an expert report prepared regarding the building and adjourned the trial to December 26, 2024.