Fugitive contractor caught in shopping mall arrested

Mehmet Özat, the fugitive contractor of the Emlakbank Houses in Hatay—where at least 370 people lost their lives during the earthquakes—was identified by victims' relatives at a shopping mall in Ankara and handed over to the police. Özat has been arrested.

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Fugitive contractor caught in shopping mall arrested

Mehmet Özat, the contractor of the 'Emlakbank' complex and several other buildings that collapsed in the Antakya district of Hatay during the two Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, has been arrested by the court to which he was referred and sent to prison.

Detained by teams from the Ankara Beytepe Police Station following a tip-off from earthquake survivors in Ankara, Özat was brought to the Ankara Sıhhıye Courthouse after processing at the police station.

Giving his statement via the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS) to the public prosecutor in Antakya who is conducting the investigation, Özat was referred to the duty magistrate with a request for his arrest.

CHARGED WITH CAUSING THE DEATH OF MULTIPLE PEOPLE

Questioned via SEGBİS by the duty Antakya Criminal Court of Peace, Mehmet Özat was arrested and sent to prison on charges of 'causing the death of multiple people through conscious negligence.'

An arrest warrant had been issued for Mehmet Özat, the contractor of several buildings that collapsed in the Antakya district of Hatay during the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, as part of an investigation conducted by the Antakya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Özat was spotted and detained in the open parking lot of a shopping mall in Ankara by citizens who lost their relatives in the earthquake.

News Source: İHA