Dozens of contractors who were found negligent in the construction of the collapsed buildings were arrested in the operations organised after the earthquake disaster that left Turkey in mourning. The Court of Cassation also ruled that the action of the defendant, who was the mayor of the municipality, constituted the offence of abuse of office.
The operations against those who were negligent in the construction of the buildings destroyed in the earthquake continue unabated.
The 12th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation found the district mayor guilty of issuing a building licence for the building that collapsed in the 2011 Van earthquake. Those who were at fault in the construction of the building, which buried two people, appeared before the judge at the High Criminal Court.
The court ruled to reduce the sentences of some defendants due to statute of limitations. The decision to reduce the sentences of the mayor accused of ‘abuse of office’ was appealed to the Court of Cassation by the public prosecutor.
The 12th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation signed a precedent-setting decision.
The judgement reads as follows.
“As a result of the collapse of the apartment block in question, 2 people lost their lives. As a result of the autopsy procedures, it is obvious that it was determined that the deceased lost their lives due to the collapse (earthquake). The Serious Criminal Court has decided to defer the announcement of the verdict separately for the defendant who is the owner and contractor of the building, the civil engineer (fenni mesul) who undertook the technical implementation responsibility of the construction and the construction foreman of the building. From the file frame, the exact year of construction of the building is not known, and it is understood that the building licence dated 22.12.2000 and numbered 2000/56 was issued, but there was no certificate of occupancy. According to the construction year of the apartment building, since it was built after 1997, it is obvious that it falls within the framework of the Regulation on Structures to be Built in 1997-Disaster Zones, the architectural, static and electrical installation projects of the apartment building are not fully available, but the ground survey report is available. The 1997 Regulation on Structures to be Built in Disaster Areas states that the minimum concrete class is lower than C16 and that it is compulsory to use concrete with C20 or higher strength in buildings in first and second degree earthquake zones. The Ministry of Interior has also authorised an investigation against the accused mayor. It is understood that the person who approved and sealed the last licence was the mayor, and that the defendant who signed and approved the documents that came before him without checking whether the documents required to be attached to the building licence in accordance with the relevant zoning legislation were present or not, it is seen that the action of this defendant constitutes the crime of misconduct and the said crime is time-barred. At the end of the trial, since there is no inconsistency in the court’s decision to dismiss the case filed against the defendant mayor on the grounds that the statute of limitations has expired from the date of the crime to the date of the decision, it has been unanimously decided to approve the verdict by rejecting the objections of the defendant’s defence counsel that the defendant should be acquitted and the local public prosecutor that the defendant should be convicted of the crime of negligent homicide.”
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