07.04.2025 20:10
In the case regarding the fire at a nightclub under renovation in Beşiktaş on April 2, 2024, which resulted in the deaths of 29 people, the court decided to release one of the nine defendants who were being tried.
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On April 2, 2024, an incident occurred in Beşiktaş Gayrettepe, where a fire broke out during renovations at a nightclub operating on the minus 1st and minus 2nd floors of a 16-story building. In the fire, 29 people lost their lives. In the indictment prepared regarding the incident, it was requested that 9 defendants be sentenced to up to 22 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of 'causing the death of multiple people with conscious negligence.' In the hearing held at the courtroom within the Marmara Penal Institutions Campus by the Istanbul 33rd Heavy Penal Court regarding the fire, 5 detained defendants, some non-detained defendants, and their lawyers were present.
A 53-PAGE EXPERT REPORT ON THE FIRE HAS BEEN PREPARED
In the hearing, the report prepared by a 4-person expert team regarding the nightclub where the fire occurred was added to the case file. The 53-page report stated that there was no change in the approved project for the building where the business that caught fire was located, and that the building's load-bearing system was as per the project. The report also mentioned that during the examination at the scene, it was noted that the sections with emergency exit stairs in the project had been closed off. The report indicated that the venue where the incident occurred had a larger square meter area compared to other similar clubs in Istanbul, and that the insulation and soundproofing systems used on the floors, walls, and ceilings released toxic smoke when sparks turned into fire while welding, causing workers and employees to inhale this toxic gas and lose their lives.
IT WAS STATED THAT WORK AND OPENING LICENSES WERE GRANTED WITHOUT OBTAINING A FIRE REPORT FOR THE BUSINESS
The report prepared by the expert stated that a report was issued for the venue by the Beşiktaş Municipality Licensing and Inspection Directorate on November 7, 2006, based on the 'Inspection Report for Workplaces Examined from a Fire Perspective,' but later, work and opening licenses were granted for this business without obtaining a fire report from the fire department, and that no inspection and control were conducted at the workplace. The report explained that on August 11, 2020, the Beşiktaş Municipality issued the relevant license for a 500 square meter area according to the regulations regarding the Opening and Working License for Workplaces, and that no permission or document was obtained for the renovations made before the fire. It was stated in the report that the business owners Şahzade Şekergümüş, Mehmet Menduh Ceylan, Fatma Dörtgül, and the occupational safety expert Kadircan Gülhan, along with the officials who had approval and signatures on the workplace opening and working license on November 4, 2018, and August 11, 2020, including Lalehan Taşdelen, Feridun Tayfun Erelmas, Beşiktaş Municipality Licensing and Inspection Director Uğur Türkyılmaz, the then deputy mayor Yasemin Saral, and Ali Rıza Yılmaz, were primarily at fault. It was reported that Uğur Türkyılmaz, the then Deputy Mayor of Beşiktaş, and the Deputy Mayor Ahmet Mithat Şeker, and Licensing Chief Nilüfer Oğuz were found to be secondarily at fault.
1 DEFENDANT WAS ORDERED TO BE RELEASED
After the defenses and statements were taken, the court panel announced its interim decision, ruling for the release of detained defendant İsmet Şen and postponed the hearing to address the missing issues.
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, 29 people were listed as 'deceased,' 27 people as 'complainants,' and 9 people as 'suspects.' It was stated in the indictment that complainant suspect Ercan Erkan and complainant Usamettin Yıldırım, who were affected by the smoke, as well as Gülden Taşpınar were injured. The indictment noted that as a result of the work done by the prosecutor's office and the expert team at the scene, the owners of the business where the incident occurred were identified as suspects Şahzade Şekergümüş, Fatma Dörtgül, and Mehmet Memduh Ceylan, with suspect İsmet Şen being the responsible manager, and the suspects who performed metal work due to the renovations were identified as Çağatay Altunel and Kahraman Erdem. It was stated in the indictment that Dursun Çelik and Sibel Çelik were the owners of the company that set up the elevator and hydraulic-supported stage in the business, and that İbrahim Bildirici was responsible for the renovation and repair work of the business. The indictment also included the fire report related to the incident, stating that after the fire was extinguished, a detailed examination revealed severe damage and deformation approximately 15 meters from the entrance of the goods acceptance area of the business, and that various electric hand tools such as an electric welding machine and electric metal cutting motor, as well as several industrial oxygen tanks were found plugged in and used for renovation purposes. The indictment stated that the fire started when sparks from the electric welding machine ignited easily flammable materials such as sound insulation, insulation, and flooring, rapidly developing and spreading to the surroundings, while employees attempted to extinguish the fire with portable fire extinguishers (dry chemical powder), and that during the rapid growth and spread of the fire, dense smoke formed in the business and the electricity was cut off. It was noted in the indictment that there were no emergency lighting or directional signs within the workplace, that the sprinkler extinguishing system and fire cabinets were not operational, and that after the fire was extinguished, rescue operations were carried out, during which individuals were found lying motionless in different locations within the business and were handed over to health teams. The indictment also referenced the expert team's report, indicating that the provisions of the 'health monitoring' article in the Occupational Health and Safety Law, the 'Occupational Health and Safety Training' article in the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles of Occupational Health and Safety Training, and the 'Training durations,' 'Emergency plans, fire fighting, and first aid' articles of the same regulation were not complied with, and that the provisions of the 'Rules related to work equipment' article of the Regulation on the Health and Safety Conditions of the Use of Work Equipment and the 'Employer's obligations' article of the Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety Risk Assessment were also not adhered to.
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REQUEST FOR UP TO 22.5 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT FOR 9 PEOPLE
In the prepared indictment, it was stated that necessary precautions were not taken in the nightclub, that due diligence was not shown in the renovation works, that there was fault on the part of the suspects, and that the suspects caused the foreseeable but unwanted outcome through actions contrary to the duty of care. In the indictment, separate requests for imprisonment of 2 years and 8 months to 22.5 years were made for 9 individuals on the charge of 'causing the death of multiple people with conscious negligence.'
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