Malatya Trend Garden Rezidans trial results in 17‑year sentence for fugitive

The 6 February 2023 earthquakes that struck Kahramanmaraş caused the collapse of the Trend Garden Rezidans in Yeşilyurt, Malatya, killing 31 people and injuring five. In May 2025 the Malatya 1st Heavy Penal Court sentenced the building’s contractor Bahattin Doğan and structural designer Bülent Yeroğlu to 12 years and six months each, while owners Engin Aslan and Sefa Gülfırat received 17 years and six months. A fourth defendant, Özkan Gülfırat, who had fled abroad, was tried in absentia. On 9 May 2025 the court heard that his statement had been taken in Finland and sentenced him to 17 years and six months for “conscious negligence causing multiple deaths and injuries.” The court acquitted him of a separate public‑order charge for false statements. The verdict was delivered while the fugitive remained in Finland.