Turkish Court Delays Verdict in 2023 Earthquake Building Collapse Case

Ezgi Apartmanı Kahramanmaraş building collapse expert reports court delay

The Kahramanmaraş 4th Heavy Penal Court continued the trial over the Ezgi Apartmanı building that collapsed in the 6 February 2023 earthquakes, killing 35 people. Defendants include two detained suspects (S.K. and M.P.), an interior‑designer architect (E.D.), and the technical responsible (M.T.). Four expert (bilirkişi) reports have been filed, and an additional report from Pamukkale University is pending evaluation.

Attorney Ersan Şen questioned the use of the reports, stating, "Bilirkişi raporlarını dikkate almayacaksak niye istedik?" ("If we don't consider expert reports, why did we request them?"). The court upheld the detention status of the two arrested suspects, maintained pre‑trial control for the others, and scheduled the next hearing for 10 September. The prosecutor’s indictment seeks sentences ranging from 700 to 876 years for the main suspects and shorter terms for the technical staff, citing charges of intentional homicide, intentional injury and negligent homicide.