Seventy-two people died in the collapse, 35 of whom were students from a Famagusta school who had come to compete in a sports event accompanied by their teachers.
The constructors, on trial, who added an extra floor to the hotel, are to be charged with “Conscious neglect”.
Reports on the quality of building materials revealed that the concrete mix used in construction of the hotel contained river sand and gravel which was substandard.
In December, 2023, the parents whose children died in the earthquake marched to demand a change in charges to ‘deliberate intent’, which carry longer prison sentences.
According to reports, President Erdogan, while on a campaign trail in 2019, had given an amnesty to builders regarding building standards to encourage the construction industry to flourish. A BBC report last February quoted Pelin Pınar Giritlioğlu, Istanbul head of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers saying that up to 75,000 buildings across the affected earthquake zone in southern Turkey had been granted amnesties.
The indictment was made on December 2, 2023, demanding a prison sentence of between 2 years and 8 months to 22 years and 6 months for the 11 defendants linked to the Isias Hotel, five of whom have been detained, for “causing the death and injury of more than one person through conscious negligence”
The trial at Adıyaman 3rd High Criminal Court begins tomorrow and will last until January 5.
