Dilovası case adjourned: ‘They have tried to clear themselves by blaming the dead’

Cenk BAŞBOĞAOĞLU

The second hearing of the case regarding the Ravive Cosmetics fire in the Dilovası district of Kocaeli, where 7 workers, including 3 children, lost their lives for the sake of corporate profit, was held recently. Attorney Esma Varış, who represents the workers' families, spoke to 12punto about the developments.

While the court decided to release 3 defendants and continue the detention of 5 others, the third hearing will be held on July 21, 2026, at the Kocaeli Penal Execution Institution (Kandıra).

‘IT EFFECTIVELY LIMITS ACCESS’

Commenting on the venue of the trial, Attorney Esma Varış stated, “Holding the trials at the Kandıra Closed Prison Campus under the pretext of a ‘venue problem’ effectively limits the right of victim families, lawyers, and the press to access the proceedings. Despite all objections from families and lawyers, the Court does not reverse this decision, merely stating that ‘the path to appeal is open.’ However, it is clear from the start that any appeals against this decision will be rejected. Nevertheless, we will continue our legal struggle and pursue the appeal process. Because this practice, which is deemed appropriate for people who have lost their mothers, children, and loved ones, is punishing the victim families a second time.”

‘THEY DID NOT EVEN EXAMINE THE CRIME SCENE’

Evaluating the testimony of a fire chief, who is a graduate of a Faculty of Communication, as an “expert witness” during the hearing, Attorney Varış said, “In the report he prepared, he claimed that the fire was not caused by deficiencies in the workplace, but by the potential intent of the deceased, Tuncay Yıldız. He claimed that people had enough time to escape after the explosion, and even that the near-absence of a fire escape could be considered a positive situation. The person who claims to have reached this conclusion from the existing information in the file did not even examine the crime scene. This is because the crime scene was hastily demolished by the municipality immediately after the explosion. It must be recalled once again that our requests to stop the demolition were left unanswered by the prosecutor's office.”

Regarding the incident, Attorney Varış added, “This ‘expert,’ who claims to base his report on the report of the expert committee appointed by the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, reached conclusions diametrically opposed to the previous report and prepared a text almost aimed at saving the defendants İsmail Oransal and Altay Ali Oransal. A complaint will be filed against this person, who disregarded professional ethics and prepared a report in the language of the defense attorneys, to the expert board by the lawyers of the case file.”

‘THE MAJORITY OF OUR REQUESTS WERE REJECTED’

Regarding the releases, Attorney Varış said, “Although the presiding judge maintained a moderate attitude in an attempt to lower the tension in the courtroom during the hearing process, the majority of the requests we submitted to clarify the file were rejected. The landlord, who built the building in violation of procedures and did not intervene despite neighbors' complaints, and the occupational health and safety specialist, who did not terminate the contract for the sake of more profit and did not fulfill their duties, were released. When the existing evidence in the file is evaluated for these two defendants, there has been no development that would necessitate their release. These releases pave the way for other defendants to be released in future hearings when the file is evaluated as a whole.”

‘WERE THEY NOT RELEASED BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT BOSSES?’

On the other hand, describing the release of Aleyna Oransal, who is being tried for causing death by conscious negligence, to house arrest on the grounds of a “high-risk pregnancy” as “another example of class injustice in the country,” Attorney Varış said, “Because there are many women in this country who give birth in prison and are forced to spend their pregnancies behind bars. Their pregnancies were also high-risk, and they also had children. But were they not released because they were not bosses? Nur, the daughter of the deceased Şengül Yılmaz, also had to give birth prematurely due to the severe stress caused by these trials. Her pregnancy was also high-risk, but because she was not a boss, it was not on anyone's agenda. On the other hand, Vedat Taşdemir has to travel for hours every day to follow the trial of his daughter's killers, despite being a cancer patient. Despite this, the defendants did not show the slightest sign of remorse in either the first or second hearing.”

‘THEY HAVE TRIED TO CLEAR THEMSELVES BY BLAMING THE DEAD’

Making statements about the court panel and the general situation, Attorney Varış said, “In his defense, defendant Ali Osman Akat requested his release by saying that he was sad that their company had declared bankruptcy, that he suffered financial losses because he invested all his assets in his companies, and that he could not see his child's birthday. However, May 11 was the birthday of Esma Gikan's son. No one was sad for the birthdays he would spend without his mother.

In their defenses, the defendants continued to use expressions implying that the victims ‘did not know how to live,’ that they could have gotten out if they wanted to, and that they almost chose to stay inside and burn by their own will. However, no defendant mentioned that there was only one exit in the building, that there was no fire escape, and that the explosion occurred right next to the exit door. On the contrary, they tried to clear themselves by blaming the dead.

The general attitude of the court panel is to give a ‘moderate’ image that tries to prevent arguments in the courtroom on one hand, and to conclude the trial as soon as possible on the other. The interim decisions are no more than a repetition of previous interim decisions. Yet, there are many indications in the file pointing to the organic link between the Akats and the Oransals, such as commercial records and accountant and lawyer partnerships. Despite this, we believe that the court is trying not to go beyond the limits of the indictment and to close the file quickly by rejecting the requests for further investigation.”

‘THOSE RESPONSIBLE ARE ALMOST BEING REWARDED’

Touching upon the importance of the case in terms of labor history, Attorney Varış said, “The Dilovası Perfume Factory explosion carries the same meaning for the Turkish working class as the Soma Mine Disaster, the Ermenek Mine Disaster, and the workplace homicides in Gayrettepe. Despite all the years that have passed, no real progress has been made regarding the rights of the working class. Ten years ago, workers were dying due to the negligence and greed of bosses; today they are dying for the same reasons. However, neither public officials nor bosses are truly held accountable for these deaths. At most, token sentences are given to appease public anger, and thus those responsible are almost being rewarded.”

On the other hand, Attorney Varış stated that if the trials continue in this way, it will go down in legal history as a black mark, adding, “The İŞKUR and SGK directors who were dismissed in the first days of the investigation were reinstated shortly after. While the candidacy of the former mayor, who did not demolish the illegal structure, is being discussed, the mayor who issued the business opening and operating license and did not close the business despite all complaints continues his duty. The fact that the municipality did not demolish the illegal structure for years by saying ‘we do not have the budget for demolition,’ but hastily demolished the building and removed the debris immediately after the explosion, raises serious questions in the public conscience. Then it must be asked: With what budget was this demolition carried out? On what conditions was the business opening and operating license granted? Why was the workplace not closed despite the complaints of the neighborhood residents? Why was the electricity of Ravive Cosmetics, which had a temporary electricity subscription, not cut off? What was waited for to seal the door of the business? Because the municipality could have stopped the operation of this workplace without demolishing the building, but it did not.”

‘IT IS A CLEAR WORKPLACE HOMICIDE’

Stating that “This explosion did not happen only with the negligence of the bosses. It occurred as a result of the combination of the bosses' negligence and the state's turning a blind eye,” Attorney Varış said, “Therefore, what happened is not an ‘accident,’ but a clear workplace homicide. The fact that the police officers who came for inspection left the factory with boxes of perfume bottles, that the factory, which employed unregistered and child workers in the building right next to İŞKUR, was ‘not noticed,’ and that no effective inspection was carried out by the ministry despite all CİMER complaints for this business, which is in the dangerous class, caused this homicide to be woven step by step.”

‘IT IS POSSIBLE WITH AN ORGANIZED STRUGGLE’

Stating that “Unless not only the bosses but also all public officials who do not fulfill their duties are tried and punished, the pain and deaths experienced by the working class will not change,” Attorney Varış said, “The working class can only protect its rights through an organized struggle. Because they are not facing only individual negligence, but an organized order that has capital, political power, and lack of supervision behind it. Citizens need to get rid of the habit of seeing every injustice as someone else's problem and remaining silent with the thought that ‘my turn will come last.’ Unless we act together against rights violations, workplace homicides, and the culture of impunity, this order will not change. The injustice experienced by a mine worker, a factory worker, or a child worker today will knock on the door of another segment of society tomorrow. Therefore, the issue is not just about a factory, a case, or a few bosses. The issue is whether the right to life, the laborer, and human dignity will be protected. The fate of the working class can only change with the growth of solidarity and the unification of the struggle for rights.”

‘IT HAS BECOME AN ESTABLISHED JUDICIAL PRACTICE’

Making statements about the future of the file, Attorney Varış said, “When these releases and the general attitude of the court panel are evaluated together, it is clear that we must wage a very strong struggle so that this trial does not end like the Soma Mine Disaster case. Because when we look at the Soma case today, we see that those who are imprisoned are the workers' lawyers, Can Atalay and Selçuk Kozağaçlı. There is not a single defendant imprisoned in the Soma disaster today. The trial regarding public officials was dropped in recent months on the grounds of the statute of limitations. On the other hand, the release of the landlord and the safety specialist in the Dilovası file suggests that other defendants may be released in upcoming hearings and there may be no imprisoned defendants left in the file. Therefore, what is happening is not just an interim decision, but a serious sign regarding the future of the case. The investigation regarding public officials in the Dilovası file was separated from the main file on the grounds of ‘procedural economy’ and made the subject of a separate investigation. However, the purpose of procedural economy is to conduct investigations more quickly and effectively. Despite this, although six months have passed, there has been no significant development in the file regarding the trial of public officials, other than the expert report on the granting of investigation permission for public officials. As a result, despite the time that has passed since the explosion, the lack of an effective investigation into public officials creates serious concerns that the practice of impunity is intended to be implemented in this file as well. Because in this country, the protection of not only bosses but also public officials who do not do their jobs in workplace homicides is no longer an exception, but has almost become an established judicial practice.”

‘AS A PARTY TO THIS CASE’

Attorney Esma Varış, who made statements to 12punto regarding the Dilovası Worker Massacre, reminded that the third hearing of the Dilovası trial was adjourned to July 21 to be held at the Kandıra Closed Prison and invited the public to follow the case as a party to it.

News Source: Cenk Başboğaoğlu