Justice Minister Tunç: 248 people held responsible for earthquake damages are in custody

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said, "Currently, 248 people are in custody on the grounds that they bear responsibility for the earthquake. 1,036 people are currently released under judicial control, but they are subject to judicial control decisions. Therefore, our judiciary continues to hold those responsible for the earthquake accountable."

Stating that approximately 16 percent of Turkey's population was directly affected by the destruction, Tunç noted that 53,537 citizens lost their lives in the earthquakes, 113 of whom were members of the justice organization.

Minister Tunç stated that they have been working day and night with a spirit of mobilization since the first moment of the earthquake and will continue to do so, adding, "So far, a massive investment exceeding 75 billion dollars, or 2.6 trillion liras, has been made to rebuild the region, and work is still ongoing. A resource of 5 billion 563 million liras has been provided for the reconstruction and revitalization of Gaziantep. In our 2025 budget, an investment of 584 billion liras has been allocated for our earthquake region, specifically for the reconstruction of damaged areas in our provinces in the earthquake zone."

'248 PEOPLE ARE IN CUSTODY ON THE GROUNDS OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE EARTHQUAKE'

Explaining that they have taken measures to ensure that judicial processes in the region are not disrupted, Minister Tunç continued his speech as follows:

Of course, there are criminal investigations and lawsuits regarding buildings that collapsed in the earthquake zone or on which illegal modifications were made. There are ongoing investigations and prosecutions. In judicial processes, cases and investigations are currently continuing in a total of 3,522 files, including 2,031 investigations and 1,491 prosecutions, that is, lawsuit processes. 1,491 lawsuits have been filed, and the investigations of 2,031 are still ongoing. Expert examinations have been completed in 2,578 files. And the expert reports have been submitted to their respective courts and prosecutor's offices.

Expressing that there are currently ongoing expert examinations, Tunç noted the following:

Currently, 248 people are in custody on the grounds that they bear responsibility for the earthquake. 1,036 people are currently released under judicial control, but they are subject to judicial control decisions. Therefore, our judiciary continues to hold those responsible for the earthquake accountable. We have always said this from the beginning. But unfortunately, we see that some people come out and make ignorant remarks in some speeches. There are also those who say, 'Has a decision been made regarding anyone responsible for the earthquake disaster yet?' We will, of course, focus on our work. Even if they continue to engage in disinformation and misinform citizens, our impartial and independent judiciary will continue to hold those responsible accountable in accordance with the law and fairness. In 1,491 prosecution files, decisions have been rendered in 149 cases. And there are those responsible who have been sentenced to prison for various terms; there are contractors, building supervisors, building inspection officials, and those who made unauthorized changes to buildings. The processes regarding these are also ongoing. In these cases, prison sentences of various durations have been given to 118 people. Of course, in addition to criminal cases, there are administrative and judicial dimensions to this. Processes in administrative jurisdiction are also continuing rapidly.

'A TOTAL OF 105,933 LAWSUITS FILED'

Stating that 105,933 lawsuits have been filed in the 11 provinces affected by the earthquake, and that some of these relate to damage assessment, demolition decisions, and property rights, Minister Tunç said, "65,826 of these have been concluded. So there is a rapid judicial procedure here. Other processes are also continuing. 39,923 lawsuits were filed against heavy damage assessments and demolition decisions; our citizens applied in 15,558 cases on the grounds that their buildings should not be demolished, and with new assessments, this reaches a point exceeding 100,000 independent units. Currently, lawsuits against heavy damage assessments and demolition decisions are continuing in 4,970 cases. It has also been possible for our citizens to apply to the judiciary regarding property rights applications. The path for our citizens to defend their rights to the end in the judiciary is, of course, open. In this context, 7,376 lawsuits were filed. 1,766 of these were accepted. It was decided that our citizens' demands in this regard were justified, and they have attained their property rights. Currently, the lawsuit processes of 4,657 of our citizens regarding property rights are also ongoing," he said.

News Source: 12punto