Cyprus Turkish Bar Association and Turkish Bar Association Presidents Isias Hotel held a press conference on the judicial process

Cyprus Turkish Bar Association President Hasan Esendağlı and Turkish Bar Association President Erinç Sağkan talked to the families about the judicial process regarding the Isias Hotel in Adıyaman, where the Famagusta TMK team lost their lives in the earthquake, and then held a press conference.

At the meeting, which was closed to the press at 11:00 at The Arkın İskele Hotel, the families were informed about the judicial process, the technical details were explained, and the families‘ questions were answered.
The two bar association presidents then went before the press and informed the public about the case process and answered questions.

Erinç Sağkan, President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, stated that the Isias judicial process was carried out by a team of 6 lawyers from the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, including himself, as a result of the request of the Cyprus Turkish Bar Association and the power of attorney of the families. He said he was arrested.

Noting that the investigation is currently being carried out regarding the construction of the hotel, Sağkan stated that the expert report of Istanbul Technical University will draw a framework as to whether there is any illegality in manufacturing and public inspection.

Stating that there was no confidentiality decision in the Isias Case, Sağkan said that taking a confidentiality decision does not mean that the process cannot be carried out transparently, and that a confidentiality decision can be taken as a requirement of the cases.

Sağkan noted that there is no such thing as separating the Isias Case from the roof case, that there is no such thing as a roof case in law, that each wreck is a separate crime scene and a separate lawsuit.

Sağkan stated that they expect the investigation process regarding Isias Hotel to be completed in up to 2 months, but that the prosecution will take longer.

President of the Cyprus Turkish Bar Association, Hasan Esendağlı, who took the first floor at the press conference, noted that they met with the families before the press conference, they were informed about the judicial process of the Isias Hotel Case, they answered the questions of the families and conveyed the technical details.

Esendağlı stated that they work in cooperation and coordination as the Cyprus Turkish Bar Association and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations to support families in the criminal proceedings, and that the Union of Turkish Bar Associations provides invaluable and invaluable support in terms of professional lawyer support.

Esendağlı noted that a team of 6 lawyers was involved in the judicial process, representing the families, and that this team of lawyers included Erinç Sağkan, the President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, who wanted to be present in person, even though the request was not made.

Erinç Sağkan, President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, expressed that he shares the pain experienced by the Cypriot people and their families.
Sağkan stated that the biggest natural disaster in the history of the Republic was experienced in 11 provinces in Turkey on February 6, and said, “We believe that this natural disaster can only heal a little bit of pain and wounds if those responsible are identified.” said.

Sağkan stated that, upon the call of the President of the Cyprus Turkish Bar Association, just after 6 February, they took action with the idea of ​​helping with Isias Hotel, that a professional team could carry out the process completely voluntarily, without any expectations, and that he talked to Esendağlı about the execution of the process by himself as the Turkey coordinator. He noted that they had agreed to follow the investigation process.

Sağkan shared that as of today, 5 of the suspects, together with the hotel owner and managers, were arrested in the investigation file, and that the file was submitted to the technical expert committee, both by determining the responsible persons in the manufacturing phase and by obtaining a report from Istanbul Technical University with all the data in the file.

Sağkan “At this stage, the investigation file; I can share that an active investigation is carried out to carry out technical investigations to identify errors and perpetrators in the manufacturing process, to determine the faults in the inspection of this, and to determine the line of responsibility.”

He stated that all physical materials were collected from municipalities, all digital materials related to the demolished building were requested from relevant institutions, and considering that the wreckage was a tourism business, permissions, information and documents on the subject were requested from the Ministry of Tourism, and in this respect, the investigation was expanded and continued.

Çağkan said, “The investigation file is currently continuing in terms of hotel owners, those who contributed to the production and technical responsibles. It is one of the most important factors for us, lawyers, to reach the municipality and ministry officials who are responsible for carrying out inspection activities in line with the expert reports to come. It is the most important factor for the families and us that all units responsible for supervising production, not just manufacturing, are made suspects in the investigation file and included in the trial process. Expanding the investigation file with this aspect constitutes the basis of our expectations and demands as lawyers,“ he said.

Çağkan stated that the delay and weakness in search and rescue activities should definitely be included in the investigation, that the preparation they will make in this direction will be submitted to the Adıyaman Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as a separate complaint, and that they will file a separate criminal complaint.

-“Constructed as an apartment in 1990, converted into a hotel”

In his answers to the questions, Sağkan stated that Isias Hotel was a building structured as an apartment in 1990, then the construction was stopped for many years due to a work accident, then the apartment was abandoned and turned into a hotel. He explained that it was seen that it was implemented as a hotel structure.

-7 thousand 500-10 thousand pages of documents

Sağkan stated that the Office of the Chief Prosecutor currently has documents between 7,500-10 thousand pages, and after examining all project document information and documents, any errors in the manufacturing process, starting from 1990 until the last change, will be revealed with an expert report.

Sağkan said, “The steps to be taken by the investigating authority; It will probably be shaped according to the report from ITU and its content”.

Stating that there is no confidentiality decision in the file, Sağkan emphasized that the file is actively dealt with by the Adıyaman Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and said, „It is being followed intensively by the Prosecutor’s Office. We see the desire and desire for a full investigation,” he said.

Sağkan said that confidentiality decisions should not always be seen as elements that would obscure the transparency of the file, and that sometimes a confidentiality decision may be necessary for the safety of that file, and that there is no situation requiring a confidentiality decision in the Isias Hotel Case.

-“There is no case called a roof case”

Sağkan noted that the Isias Case is not separated from a roof case, there is no such case as a roof case, there cannot be a roof case in such cases, each wreck is a separate crime scene.

The President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations Sağkan stated that the Adıyaman Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office informed them that the projects and documents related to the Isias Hotel were accessed from the first day of production, that they were archived by the Prosecutor’s Office, that the documents were collected from the archive of the destroyed building of the municipality, that the plan between 7,500 and 10 thousand pages is included in the project file. reported that. Sağkan noted that an expert report will be created with the separation to be made from them, and the result of this report will draw a framework for deficiencies, illegality, and whether the public officials related to inspection fulfill their duties in accordance with the law, if any.