Indictment prepared in İzmir electrocution tragedy investigation: 15 years of imprisonment sought for each of 42 defendants

An indictment has been prepared against 42 people for the crime of "causing the death of more than one person through conscious negligence," seeking up to 22.5 years of imprisonment for each, regarding the deaths of 2 people who were electrocuted while trying to take shelter from a downpour in the Konak district of İzmir.

The indictment, prepared by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which is conducting the investigation into the incident, has been sent to the High Criminal Court.

Expert reports in the indictment state that Gdz Elektrik and the İzmir Water and Sewerage Administration General Directorate (İZSU) bear primary responsibility for the accident, noting that there were no unforeseeable or unavoidable extraordinary natural events in the occurrence of the incident, and that the deceased had no dangerous actions or personal faults that would trigger the event.

The report noted that it was concluded that the grates could not drain rainwater on the day of the incident because routine maintenance and cleaning of the grates were not performed as they should have been.

The report, which also includes photos of the scene, states that the grates were filled to the brim with mud, waste, rainwater, and filth, and that the accumulation of rainwater that could not be drained through the grates created a very dangerous situation by forming a puddle charged with leaking electricity as a result of contact with a damaged, current-carrying cable.

The report explains that when a video from a business in the area was examined, it was seen that during the installation of the concrete manhole mass for the rainwater grates, which were built by an engineering firm at the location where the incident occurred on January 4, the cables were pulled and the surrounding area was struck with sledgehammers.

"IF THE UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC CABLE PROJECT HAD BEEN FOLLOWED, THE ACCIDENT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED"

The reports, which noted that the excavation for the underground electric cables being half as deep as it should have been was a direct factor and a grave fault in the occurrence of the incident, stated: "In the intra-system communication software regarding the detection made on the electric cable on January 9, 2024, it is seen that the information 'smoke is coming from the cables passing through the ground, if it goes to the grate, electrocution may occur' was transferred to the system. From this, it is concluded that there was actually a serious malfunction at the point where the incident occurred long before it happened. It is clearly evident that if the underground electric cables had been where they were supposed to be according to the project, that is, at a depth of 70 centimeters according to the project, the accident would not have occurred because the cables would not have been damaged even if the concrete mass of the grate had settled."

STATEMENTS OF THE SUSPECTS

The indictment, which also includes the statements of the suspects, quotes İZSU General Manager Gürkan Erdoğan as saying: "There are 7 thousand personnel within the institution. It serves the entirety of İzmir and its 30 districts. Therefore, it is not acceptable for every event that occurs here to be intervened in personally by the general manager and for the responsibility to fall on the general manager. Furthermore, Gediz officials were the last to intervene at the scene of the incident. Therefore, the causal link has been severed."

Gdz Elektrik Distribution General Manager Uğur Yüksel's statements were also recorded: "I became aware of the grate installation carried out by İZSU in January 2024 and the subsequent modification and repair operations carried out by our institution's officials after a fault record, only after the investigation was initiated by your prosecutor's office. İZSU did not contact our institution regarding the necessity of having an observer from our institution at the place where they were working."

Former İZSU General Manager Ali Hıdır Köseoğlu, in his defense, stated that he started his duty at the İZSU General Directorate in 2022 and left in April 2024, noting that he acted with the officials in the institution during his tenure, that it is not possible for him to be held responsible for the mistakes made by each of these officials within the framework of their duties, and that the last institution to perform operations at the scene was Gdz Elektrik.

In the public prosecutor's evaluation of the incident, it was stated: "It is understood from the entire scope of the file that the suspects, who are officials and employees of Gdz Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. and the İZSU General Directorate, as well as the contractor firms of these institutions, committed the crime of 'causing death by conscious negligence' corresponding to their alleged actions by acting in violation of the obligations of necessary attention and care through a chain of ongoing negligence and technical faults that led to the deaths of İnanç Öktemay and Özge Ceren Deniz due to electrical leakage."

The public prosecutor requested up to 22.5 years of imprisonment for each of the 42 suspects regarding the incident, for which the files of 9 of the 51 suspects were separated, for the crime of "causing the death of more than one person through conscious negligence."

Ayşe Sarıçiçek, the lawyer for Özge Ceren Deniz's family, stated that one of the 2 suspects given house arrest as part of the investigation, Gdz Elektrik personnel electrical engineer T.E., could not be found at his home by the teams, and that they had submitted a request to the prosecutor's office for the suspect's arrest.

THE INCIDENT AND THE INVESTIGATION

On July 12, in the Konak district of İzmir, Özge Ceren Deniz (23) and İnanç Öktemay (44) lost their lives after being electrocuted when they stepped into a puddle during a downpour.

Of the 51 suspects for whom detention warrants were issued as part of the investigation into the incident, 48 were apprehended. 14 of these individuals were arrested, and 1 person was released upon appeal.

News Source: AA