Trial for İliç mining disaster begins: 43 defendants to stand trial

The first hearing of the case regarding the disaster at the Çöpler Gold Mine in İliç, Erzincan, where 9 workers lost their lives, begins today. 43 defendants, 5 of whom are in custody, will be tried on charges of "causing death and injury by negligence."

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Trial for İliç mining disaster begins: 43 defendants to stand trial

The first hearing of the case opened regarding the incident at the Çöpler Gold Mine in the İliç district of Erzincan, where 9 workers lost their lives due to a heap leach collapse, will be held today at the Erzincan 1st High Criminal Court. In the case, 43 defendants, 5 of whom are in custody, will be tried on charges of "causing death and injury by negligence."

Following the collapse of the heap leach at the Çöpler Gold Mine in the İliç district of Erzincan on February 13, 2024, Adnan Keklik, Kenan Öz, Ramazan Çimen, Uğur Yıldız, Abdurrahman Şahin, Fahrettin Keklik, Mehmet Kazar, Şaban Yılmaz, and Hüseyin Kara lost their lives, while İsa Taşdelen and İshak Demir were injured.

BODY FOUND 116 DAYS AFTER THE DISASTER

The body of the first worker was reached on April 5, while the body of the last worker could only be reached 116 days after the disaster, on June 8, 2024.

12 DEFENDANTS "PRIMARILY AT FAULT," 31 DEFENDANTS "PARTIALLY AT FAULT"

In the indictment prepared as part of the investigation conducted by the İliç Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that J.H., vice president of global projects at the company named SSR; C.Y.D., country manager of the Anagold firm; I.R.G., vice president of operations; S.S., sustainable investment projects manager; A.R.K., senior geotechnical engineer; S.Ç., occupational health and safety manager; K.Ö., operations director; K.J.R., project manager for the 2017-2023 periods; L.Q. and V.L.L., design engineers at the company named GRE; K.G., control engineer; and Ö.A., project coordinator at the INR firm, were "primarily at fault."

The indictment requested that 12 of the 43 defendants be considered "primarily at fault" and 31 be considered "partially at fault," and that all defendants be sentenced to 2 to 15 years in prison for the crime of "causing death and injury by negligence."

Additionally, for the manager of the Canadian company operating the mine at the time, I.R.G., as well as C.Y.D. and K.Ö., a judicial fine or, in the event of permanent effects on soil, water, or air, a prison sentence of 2 months to 1 year was requested for the crime of "negligent pollution of the environment."