The trial of public officials found at fault for the collapse of the Adıyaman Grand Isias Hotel began on Thursday.
For the trial, a delegation including the Chairman of the Temporary and Special Committee of the Republic Assembly on Monitoring the Legal and Judicial Process Related to the Earthquake, Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu, committee members, State Planning Organization Undersecretary Durali Güçlüsoy, Bar Association President Hasan Esendağlı, lawyers, and journalists are in Adıyaman.
Reading out a statement on Thursday on behalf of the association, Ruşen Karakaya reminded the public that on the morning of February 6, 2023, the Isias Hotel became not just a collapsed structure, but a mass grave—claiming the lives of 72 people, including students, teachers, and guides.
The association emphasized that this was not simply a natural disaster, but the result of systemic negligence and misconduct.
“The contractors and hotel owners are not the only ones responsible,” they said, underlining that public officials who authorized the building, ignored violations, or failed in their oversight must also be prosecuted for willful negligence. “Isias is the result of dereliction of duty, of lives sacrificed for profit,” the statement read, declaring that the trial must hold all responsible parties equally accountable.
The Association also condemned the ongoing freedom of Hasan Aslan—convicted yet still at large since December 25—as a symbol of justice denied.
“Our children will never return, but seeing those responsible walk free continues to wound our consciences,” said President Ruşen Karakaya. They warned that further delays in justice would only deepen public distrust, calling Isias “a crime” whose perpetrators must not go unpunished.
Speaking earlier on Wednesday the Cyprus Turkish Bar Association President Hasan Esendağlı stated that expert reports clearly identified the negligence of the accused, and an indictment was filed to prosecute public officials accordingly.
He emphasized that their level of responsibility was at least equal to that of the previously convicted individuals, yet none of them had been taken into custody.
He criticized the slow progress of the judicial process, attributing it to procedural delays, and underscored that the victims’ families would continue to monitor the case closely.
Founding member of the Champion Angels Association, Murat Aktuğralı, echoed this frustration, noting that despite earlier technical reports pointing to the same officials, no meaningful action had been taken.
Also speaking, Association President Ruşen Karakaya had raised serious concern over the continued freedom of convicted official Hasan Aslan, who was sentenced to approximately 15 years in prison but has not been detained since the verdict on December 25.
She expressed sorrow that justice had not functioned properly in the case of public officials, stating that the prolonged delay in filing the indictment was unacceptable.