Turkish courts issue sentences in earthquake-related building collapse cases

Courts in Turkey have delivered verdicts in several legal cases stemming from the February 6 earthquakes. In Kahramanmaraş, the 4th High Criminal Court sentenced eight defendants in the Said Bey Sites case, where 44 people died. The detained contractor, Hasan Çam, received 11 years and 1 month in prison for “causing the death and injury of multiple people through conscious negligence.” Other defendants, including site managers and construction personnel, received sentences ranging from 8 years and 10 months to 11 years, along with a two-year ban from their professions. Two former municipal officials were sentenced to 5 years in prison for negligence.

In a separate case regarding the Furkan Apartment collapse in Gaziantep's Nizip district, which resulted in 51 deaths, the Gaziantep Regional Court of Justice overturned a previous acquittal. The appellate court ruled that the acquittal of Hasan Hüseyin Sever, despite being the actual contractor, was erroneous. Following the reversal, the court issued various sentences, including 14 years and 5 months for business owners and 16 years and 8 months for a technical supervisor.