Tekirdağ Bar Association President Atty. Egemen Gürcün explains the Çorlu Train Accident case and the process...

Şenol ÇARIK - 12punto.com.tr

“During this period, the defendants were not removed from their duties for even a single day. Track guards had been removed, and no system was established to replace them. The infrastructure was not renewed. At the time of the accident, they were not even processing weather conditions in the system, despite tracking them with the Meteorological Service and having that information. They had not opened tenders for maintenance and repair. They had canceled the tenders that were opened. We also saw from time to time in the witnesses' testimonies in court that they were trying to protect the upper management. Unfortunately, as a lawyer and a citizen, I have witnessed these things. We heard the defendants' statements that the culverts are still not proper and that controls cannot be ensured in these institutions, which are among the institutions I should trust and to which we entrust our lives.”

No verdict was reached at the 18th hearing of the train accident that occurred in Çorlu, Tekirdağ, on July 8, 2018, which claimed the lives of 25 people, 7 of whom were children. Tekirdağ Bar Association President Atty. Egemen Gürcün, who followed the hearing at the Çorlu 1st High Criminal Court alongside the families, evaluated the developments for 12punto.

-Mr. Gürcün, could we hear from you about the process and the course of the case?

"The Çorlu train accident is one of the biggest accidents in our region and in the history of Turkey. 25 of our citizens, 7 of whom were children, lost their lives, and we have more than 317 injured. Throughout this process, the families' demand has constantly been justice from the very beginning.

I would like to explain the process to better evaluate the outcome of the hearing the other day."

“SILENT JUSTICE VIGIL…”

"After the accident in 2018, the investigation was continued, and in the first stage, in March 2019, a case was filed for only 4 suspects in this file. The file for public officials was separated. This situation had caused very serious sadness among the families and victims. As the Tekirdağ Bar Association Management, we stood with the families that day and held our ‘Silent Justice Vigil’ at the Çorlu Courthouse, which we carried out alongside them, to ensure their demands were heard by the public.

As a result of this Justice Vigil, which we carried out for 15 days during our objection process, the objections were rejected. It was decided to proceed with the case for these 4 low-level officials.

“THE FAMILIES' DEMANDS WERE NOT HEARD!”

While this case was ongoing, there were, of course, new developments. With the effective follow-up of the Bar Associations and lawyers, new defendants were added to the file. It was constantly requested that higher-level managers also be included in the file. Ultimately, 9 more defendants were added, but almost all of the defendants here were at the Regional Directorate level. No defendants at the General Directorate level were added to the file. The families had demands for this file to be delivered to the ministry and to be brought to the attention of the Minister of Transport of the time. There were demands for TCDD General Directorate officials to be included in the file as defendants and for politicians to be present in this file as well. However, the process regarding these did not progress."

“POSTPONEMENT WAS NOT EXPECTED AT ALL!”

-The 18th hearing of the case was held. A verdict was expected, but it did not come out…

"In the trial, it was essentially announced to the public as the verdict hearing. Again, a long hearing took place. The lawyers for the complainants took the floor. The defendants took the floor. The complainants took the floor. The defense attorneys made their arguments. In light of the new evidence and defenses that emerged, I think the court felt the need to re-examine the file. In this respect, it postponed the hearing to February 29."

“WE BELIEVE IT WILL BE THE LAST HEARING…”

-Isn't it an unexpected postponement?

"Yes, it was not expected at all. The file has been on the public agenda for a long time. The decision the court has made in this sense is, of course, at its discretion, at a stage where we do not think that a new piece of evidence or a new document in the file could change much. Perhaps they may have postponed it to create a more comprehensive justification for the file.

In this respect, we are curiously awaiting the final hearing, which we believe will take place on February 29. Here, within the scope of criminal proceedings, final statements are taken procedurally, and the verdict is notified to the parties.

Frankly, we are expecting a hearing that will proceed in this way."

“JUSTICE, THE DEMAND OF MILLIONS”

"The search for justice in Turkey is the demand of millions. Almost every day, our citizens go to courthouse doors for justice in courts, courthouses, and various fields. Most recently, a mining disaster occurred in Amasra. We were there too. There was a phrase we said there, and we said it here as well. We said, “May justice not remain under the mine, under the pit!” and in Çorlu, we say, “May justice not remain under the train tracks.”

As Bar Associations, we have a mission that has also taken on important duties such as protecting the rule of law and protecting human rights. In this sense, as all Bar Associations, we follow the cases. We follow social cases as much as we can.

“THE DEFENDANTS WERE NOT REMOVED FROM THEIR DUTIES FOR EVEN 1 DAY”

The point that citizens should know here is this. TCDD is a very deep-rooted institution. It is an institution that we all trust and to which we entrust our families and our lives. However, we have unfortunately learned with sadness as a result of this accident that the inside of this institution is not equipped with merit and knowledge in these trials.

During this period, the defendants were not removed from their duties for even 1 day. Track guards had been removed, and no system was established to replace them. The infrastructure was not renewed. At the time of the accident, they were not even processing weather conditions in the system, despite tracking them with the Meteorological Service and having that information. They had not opened tenders for maintenance and repair. They had canceled the tenders that were opened. We also saw from time to time in the witnesses' testimonies in court that they were trying to protect the upper management. Unfortunately, as a lawyer and a citizen, I have witnessed these things. We heard the defendants' statements that the culverts are still not proper and that controls cannot be ensured in these institutions, which are among the institutions I should trust and to which we entrust our lives.

“I HOPE THAT JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED”

In this respect, there is a process that needs to be handled seriously. We have followed this case alongside our families and citizens, and we will continue to follow it during the verdict process. I hope that justice will be served as soon as possible.

On the other hand, the families' search for justice at the Constitutional Court also continues. The response from there could also change the course of the trial."

“WE VERY MUCH DESIRED TO SEE CAN ATALAY AT THIS HEARING TOO!”

-Atty. Can Atalay was also one of the lawyers for the complainants in this case, wasn't he, Mr. Gürcün?

"Yes, he was. Frankly, we very much desired for Can Atalay to be here at this hearing. In these days when the rule of law and judicial independence have gained great importance, despite the difficult times we are going through, we have not lost our hope and our determination to fight. In this sense, I hope that our colleague Atty. Can Atalay will regain his freedom as soon as possible and that we will all see a period in our country where the concept of the state of law that we desire gains functionality."

News Source: Şenol Çarık