Confession in the Dilovası Massacre: AKP mayor held responsible

12punto.com.tr

Cenk BAŞBOĞAOĞLU

The chain of administrative negligence behind the disaster in the Dilovası district of Kocaeli on November 8, 2025, in which 7 workers, including 3 children, lost their lives in a two-story illegal building belonging to Ravive Kozmetik, has been reflected in the prepared indictment.

According to information obtained by 12punto, the statements of former Building Control Manager Cihan Sorgucu, who is a defendant in the case, revealed how the AKP mayor of the period, Hamza Şayir, left inspection mechanisms only on paper and how the unlicensed workshop was allowed to operate in plain sight.

WAREHOUSE ON PAPER, ILLEGAL WORKSHOP IN REALITY

The building where the disaster occurred constitutes an example of lawlessness from start to finish due to its structure.

According to the findings in the accessed indictment, although the building where Ravive Kozmetik operated was two stories high, the entrance doors of the floors were on different streets, and there was no passage between the floors inside the building.

While the first floor of the building appeared as a warehouse, the second floor was used as a workshop, packaging, filling, labeling area, and office.

In the investigation file, it was clearly emphasized that this second floor, used as a workshop, had no license or usage permit and was a completely illegal structure that was not included in the architectural project.

WE DID NOT INSPECT, NO COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED

Cihan Sorgucu, the Building Control Manager of the period, who is one of the names at the center of the question of how the illegality and the illegal structure were not inspected, tried to shift the responsibility away from themselves in his statements reflected in the indictment.

The statements in Sorgucu's testimony—that no ex officio (on their own) inspection was carried out regarding the illegal and unlicensed parts of the building, that no official complaint or report was received by the institution regarding the address in question, that no routine field control mechanism was operated, and that the Building Control Unit did not have a proactive inspection plan for such underground and illegal workshops due to workload—clearly explain the inadequacy of inspections within the municipality and the operation based on complaints.

Sorgucu's statements in his defense, which could be understood as "we did not go because no report was received," were included in the file as concrete evidence of how local government officials holding inspection authority tried to evade responsibility.

AKP MAYOR HELD RESPONSIBLE

On the other hand, in his statement, Sorgucu held the AKP mayor of the period, Hamza Şayir, responsible. Sorgucu stated that he had conveyed his warnings to him that inspection mechanisms were not being operated in the district, that unlicensed and illegal structures were being condoned, and that there was a widespread illegal construction order; furthermore, he stated that during his time as Building Control Manager, reports regarding buildings that had demolition orders and for which they had issued demolition orders were not processed, and that he was pressured and obstructed regarding some files.

Sorgucu even alleged that Şayir warned him not to keep the minutes he was supposed to keep regarding the detection of the illegal building, and that if he did so, he would remove him from his post.

TRUTHS BROUGHT TO THE JUDICIARY

In this massacre, where 7 workers, 3 of whom were children, lost their lives and the most painful picture of child labor and lack of rules was seen, families had held a justice vigil for days because no steps were taken regarding the responsibility of public officials for a long time.

Subsequently, within the scope of the new expert reports prepared and the prosecutor's investigation, many former and current municipal officials, including Cihan Sorgucu, were arrested and sent to prison.

These statements of Cihan Sorgucu, which entered the indictment, reveal in all their nakedness the "chain of lack of inspection," which is one of the biggest factors behind work-related murders in Turkey, and the tendency of local governments to avoid responsibility.

News Source: 12punto