Kartalkaya fire disaster trial begins: 1,998 years of imprisonment requested

The trial of 32 defendants, including the hotel owner and municipal officials, regarding the Grand Kartal Hotel fire in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center will begin on Monday, July 7.

Thirteen defendants facing up to 1,998 years in prison each for the 78 counts of murder with possible intent and wounding with possible intent in connection with the fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya, in which 78 people lost their lives and 133 were injured, and 19 defendants facing up to 22 years and 6 months in prison each for causing the death or injury of more than one person through conscious negligence, will appear before the judge at the Bolu 1st High Criminal Court on Monday.

THE CASE WILL LAST FOR 14 DAYS

Considering the scope of the file, which includes 210 complainants and 32 defendants, and in which the complainants and the lawyers of the parties will also be present at the first hearing, a period of 14 days was allocated for the hearing.

Since the capacity of the courtrooms in the courthouse would be insufficient due to the large number of parties, the Bolu Social Sciences High School Sports Hall was converted into a 700-person courtroom by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

Security cameras were installed in the hall, the interior and exterior of which were painted. The lighting system in the hall was completely changed, the electrical infrastructure was renewed and connected to the generator system, and a UPS connection was made.

In the hall where the Sound and Image Information System (SEGBİS) infrastructure was established by the Ministry of Justice Information Processing General Directorate, the floor was completely covered with carpet in order to provide acoustics. An internet line was drawn for UYAP connection to the hall where a state-of-the-art sound system was established.

HOW MUCH PRISON SENTENCE IS REQUIRED FOR WHICH DEFENDANT?

In the 98-page indictment prepared by the Bolu Public Prosecutor's Office and accepted by the 1st High Criminal Court, a total of 1,998 years in prison is sought for the hotel owners, company board members and managers Halit Ergül, Emine Mürtezaoğlu Ergül, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, Elif Aras, Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, Kadir Özdemir, Cemal Özer, Mehmet Salun, as well as Bolu Municipality Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Deputy Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun and firefighter İrfan Acar, on charges of 78 counts of possible intentional murder and possible intentional wounding.

The hotel's technical staff Tahsin Pekcan, Hüseyin Özer and Bayram Ütkü, the kitchen staff Reşat Bölük, Enver Öztürk and Faysal Yaver, occupational safety experts Kübra Demir and Ece Kayacan, the receptionist Yiğithan Burak Çetin, Mudurnu Energy Industry and Trade Inc. officials İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, FQC Global Certification Inc. official Ali Ağaoğlu and his employee Aleyna Beşinci, LPG installation maintenance workers Doğan Aydın and Muharrem Şen, Provincial Special Administration Secretary General Sırrı Köstereli, Provincial Special Administration Deputy Secretary General Bünyamin Bal, Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Manager Yeliz Erdoğan and former Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Manager Mehmet Özel are also facing up to 22 years and 6 months in prison for "causing the death and injury of more than one person through conscious negligence."

FROM THE INDICTMENT

The indictment stated that on the night of the incident, four personnel were working in the hotel kitchen to prepare breakfast, that the fire was first noticed at 03.24, that the personnel who noticed it informed the other personnel, that the gendarmerie was called at 03.26, and that the 112 Emergency Call Center was called at 03.27.

The indictment states that the fire started at 03.17 with a small flare from the electric grill called grill plate in the restaurant on the fourth floor of the hotel and the inner chamber catching fire. It is also reported that the flames spread from the grill plate chamber to the garbage bin located nearby at 03.24 and from there to the LPG hose. The flames melted the hose and ignited the LPG gas. The fire accelerated excessively and "exceeded controllable limits" at 03.26 and the flame color started to turn blue.

In the indictment, it was stated that the varnished OSB and wooden decoration used on the ceiling rapidly gasified, and that gasification caused excessive smoking and rapid burning, and that the kitchen staff's leaving the door to the indoor parking lot they used for escape open accelerated the burning, and that the inadequacy and faulty structures of the stairs and elevators, and the lack of a gas evacuation system caused flammable and toxic gases to rise rapidly to the upper floors of the hotel, causing all corridors to be filled with toxic smoke and flammable gases.

The indictment states that the hotel did not have an emergency announcement system that would broadcast automatic live voice messages to notify people in the building of an emergency, that the fire detection and warning systems did not work as they should, that the personnel were not given fire and emergency training, that no fire drills were conducted, and that the necessary interventions could not be made at the time of the incident.

The indictment explained that the hotel's escape stairs, stairs and evacuation doors did not have the required features, there was no sprinkler system, the gases released during the fire used the stairs and elevator as chimneys and quickly reached the upper floors, there was no system on the stairs that provided natural or mechanical smoke evacuation, there was no emergency lighting system on the stairs, there were no fire escape signs and escape directions, and the hotel guests were not provided with an alternative exit opportunity, thus preventing the safe, rapid and proper evacuation of the guests who became aware of the fire by their own means.

The indictment, which states that the responsibility within the scope of legal legislation lies with the building owners and board members Halit Ergül, his wife Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, their daughters Elif Aras and Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, and the de facto legal managers Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, Kadir Özdemir, who was authorized to represent the company, and Cemal Özer and Mehmet Salun, who acted on his instructions, also pointed out that they did not establish the necessary technical infrastructure within the scope of the management and decision-making processes in which the suspects were involved.