Ahmet Bozkurt, the owner of the Isias hotel in the Turkish city of Adiyaman, and his two sons Mehmet Fatih Bozkurt and Efe Bozkurt, saw their applications for release rejected on Saturday evening.
The hotel had collapsed during the earthquakes which struck south-eastern Türkiye last February and killed 35 Cypriots including 24 children.
Following the court’s decision, the Turkish Cypriot contingent made up of the families of victims, legal experts and press returned to the island on Sunday.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu and the head of the Champion Angels Society Ruşen Karakaya spoke to the press at Ercan Airport upon their arrival.
The court ordered that five of the 11 suspects, Ahmet Bozkurt, his sons Fatih Bozkurt and Efe Bozkurt, Halil Bağcı and Erdem Yıldız remain in custody.
The suspects had requested that they be released pending their next trial hearing, with Ahmet Bozkurt citing fears for his own safety and scheduled surgical procedures.
However, their applications were rejected by the court, and they will now remain in custody until the next hearing of the trial, which is scheduled to take place on April 26.
They will all also be brought to court in person by court in April.
Throughout the four-day trial over the hotel’s collapse, Ahmet Bozkurt had earlier denied all wrongdoing.
The Bozkurt trio and eight others stand accused of “causing death by conscious negligence”, and, if found guilty, could be jailed for up to 22 and a half years.
The group from the TRNC made up of the families of the victims and the press returned to the island on Sunday.
Greeting the families at Ercan Airport Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu said that the government will be by the side of the families at the next hearing on April 26.
Also speaking, the head of the Champion Angels Society Ruşen Karakaya said that it had been a difficult four days at the trial and that the court’s decision had brought them some relief.
“The death of our children at İsias was not fate and we stand by our word. We shall continue our struggle to the end until justice is served,” she said.