Bolu Bar Association President Barut: Interim decision in Kartalkaya case on Friday

Bolu Bar Association President Sinan Barut made statements to journalists in front of the Bolu Social Sciences High School, where the trial regarding the Grand Kartal Hotel fire is being held. Barut stated that the court will take a one-day break due to July 15. Bar Association President Sinan Barut said that the trial is expected to conclude its first phase next week, at which point an interim decision will be issued.

"A ONE-DAY BREAK WILL BE TAKEN"

Stating that the court will take a one-day break due to July 15, Sinan Barut said, "Today is the 8th day of the Kartalkaya trial. In the first stage, the defendants' defenses were taken. Following the defendants' defenses, the statements of the complainant victim families continue to be heard. There were witnesses waiting in the interim. The witnesses' statements have been taken. The hearing is currently proceeding with questions from the defense attorneys, the victims' attorneys, and the victim side regarding these witness statements. From now on, the statements of some victim families who were not present at the hearing will continue to be taken as of Wednesday. Tomorrow, due to July 15, the court will take a one-day break. The court continues with hearings every day from 9 AM to 12 AM," he said.

"WE EXPECT AN INTERIM DECISION ON FRIDAY"

Expressing that they expect the hearings to conclude by next Friday, Barut said that an interim decision would also be issued. Sinan Barut said, "The course of the hearings will likely continue until next Friday, and we hope that the first session will conclude. With the conclusion of the first session, the court will issue an interim decision regarding detention, as well as the status of some defendants who are under judicial control. There are also requests from the defense and victim attorneys for the expansion of the investigation. A decision is also expected regarding these requests. Of course, while the trial is ongoing, judicial control decisions were made for 4 people among the defendants. We have said this before. Just as there is a possibility that defendants who are currently free could be arrested, there is also the possibility of judicial control and release for some detained defendants. We believe that all of these will be decided, and an interim decision will be made on Friday, if time permits," he said.

"THE DEFENDANTS' DEFENSES WERE NOTABLE"

Stating that the defendants have objected to the accusations against them, Bar Association President Barut said, "In this process, the statements and defenses of the defendants were notable. In their initial defenses, no defendant stated that there was any fault attributable to them. There were always objections by the defendants to the expert reports. In response to this, questions came from the victim families to the defendants, especially in line with the expert reports. But of course, the prosecution is currently continuing regarding both whether there is fault and whether this fault constitutes 'probable intent' or 'conscious negligence' on their part," he stated.

"THEY WILL NOT BE RELIED UPON"

Responding to a question regarding the footage of Emir Aras escaping the fire with his family being shown in the courtroom, President Barut said that if there is evidence, the defendants' statements will not be relied upon. Sinan Barut said, "In criminal proceedings, the court panel is never bound by either the acceptance or denial of the crime. In other words, the defendants' defense does not carry much weight for us here. Actually, what is important in criminal justice is the scope of the file, the evidence, and the footage. That is, regardless of whether Emir Aras says 'I helped' or 'I did not,' if there is evidence regarding whether he helped or not, the defendant's statement will not be relied upon in any way. As far as we can see in the footage, there is footage showing that Emir did not help in any way and that he went outside directly with his family. The court panel will make an evaluation based on this evidence while assessing these. The reason why the prosecutor's office and the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office used the term 'probable intent' in the indictment, and the reason why Emir's action is evaluated within the scope of 'probable intent,' stems from this. In other words, he is being tried with 'probable intent' because he did not engage in any actual behavior after going outside and did not inform anyone," he stated.

News Source: İHA