The trial of the İsias Hotel case has been adjourned to October 22, Adıyaman’s third criminal court ruled on Wednesday.

The latest hearing into the trial for those held responsible for the death of 25 children, alongside 11 Cypriot adults and 47 others who were killed when the hotel collapsed during the earthquakes in the region on February 6 last year took place on Wednesday.

The court also ruled that the three defendants, Ahmet Bozkurt, Mehmet Fatih Bozkurt and Erdem, remain in custody until the next hearing set to take place later this year following the end of the summer judicial break.

The other eight defendants will continue to be tried under judicial control without detention.

The status of the files for the public officials under investigation will also be clarified.

Present at the hearing were the families, as well as Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, Education Minister Nazım Çavuşoğlu, Interior Minister Dursun Oğuz, leader of the main opposition Republican Turkish Party Tufan Erhürman, the head of the Cyprus Turkish Bars Association Hasan Esendağlı and the Chairman of the Isias Hotel Trial Monitoring Committee Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu.

Following the announcement of decisions by the court, the Bars Association President Hasan Esendağlı welcomed the court’s ruling to keep the three defendants in custody.

Ruşen Yücesoylu Karakaya, a mother of the children and president of the Champions Angels Association called out Ahmet Bozkurt, describing him as a murderer.

“Yes, you are a murderer. On October 22, we will show you everything with the reports from Dokuz Eylül University. You are not innocent, Ahmet Bozkurt. All public officials involved will receive the heaviest penalties. No matter how many lies you tell, it will be useless. You have taken 72 lives, and all of you will face justice.”

At the most recent hearing in April, Adıyaman’s third highest criminal court ordered that a new university report be written regarding the hotel’s collapse and the 72 deaths.

The report was written by the Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir and is the fourth such report to have been compiled concerning the Isias hotel’s collapse.

The third, written by Ankara’s Gazi University, had generated controversy as it had been much less scathing than the other two and had led to the release of two suspects who had initially been held in custody following the first phase of the trial in January.

The previous two had been written by Trabzon’s Karadeniz Technical University and the Istanbul Technical University. They outlined how sand and gravel from a local river had been used in the hotel’s construction, and how supporting columns had been cut at the hotel, among numerous other deficiencies.

In May, the Adıyaman Provincial governor’s office permitted criminal investigations to be launched into the conduct of four retired former civil servants when the Isias hotel’s owners had filed applications for various construction and change of use permits over the years.

It had been found that permits had been given to the Isias hotel which did not comply with the relevant laws, and that information written on permits did not match the work carried out at the hotel.

In a video call with the families, President Ersin Tatar expressed his hopes for a just outcome in the Isias Hotel case, emphasizing the importance of justice being served.

He conveyed his support to the association and the families affected by the tragedy, reaffirming his commitment to ensuring that the legal process concludes with fairness and accountability.

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel who was in Adıyaman for the hearing told the press that the case has become a collective legal battle for the Turkish Cypriot community.

“We stand with our families throughout the trial process related to the Isias case.”

He emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring that the highest and most deterrent punishments permissible by law are applied, pledging to follow the case to its conclusion,” he said.

“We are here in Adıyaman seeking justice. Our sorrow is profound and will not subside. We will pursue the case until justice is served and those responsible for constructing the hotel are duly punished.”

Reiterating their faith in the Turkish justice system, Üstel underlined their expectation that the third report be prepared swiftly, advocating for the prosecution of the hotel owners on charges of probable intent.