(ANKARA) - In the Akgül Apartment case, where 15 people lost their lives in the February 6 earthquakes in Adıyaman, the expert report requested in the second hearing did not arrive even though 6 hearings and more than 1 year had passed. The next hearing was postponed to October 19.
In the February 6 earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, 15 people lost their lives and 4 people were injured as a result of the collapse of the Akgül Apartment in the Barbaros District of the Central district of Adıyaman.
Adıyaman Chief Public Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit against the building owners, Memet Akgül and Yusuf Bozat, demanding up to 22 years and 6 months in prison each for the crime of "causing the death and injury of more than one person through conscious negligence".
At the second hearing held on March 19, 2025, it was decided to obtain a new expert report. Even though 6 hearings and more than a year have passed, the report has still not arrived.
While those who lost their relatives in the earthquake and their lawyers attended the 8th hearing held at Adıyaman 2nd High Criminal Court, the defendants and their lawyers did not attend. The President of the Court said that the expert report expected to determine the fault of the defendants has not arrived yet.
The complainant's lawyer, Yusuf Özperçin, pointed out that the expert report had not been received for a long time and said, "For this reason, we want the necessary confirmation letters to be written and the file to be repeated immediately." Another complainant's lawyer said, "The fact that the file has been under expert examination for more than a year has caused the file to be delayed. We demand to be asked about the fate of the expert report."
The court board decided to wait for the expert report and ask about its fate and postponed the hearing to 19 October.