In the Kartalkaya case, the striking words: "I will reveal the favoritism on the last day."

29.10.2025 01:18

In the case regarding the fire disaster in Kartalkaya that claimed the lives of 78 people, the defendants made their final defenses. Bünyamin Bal, the Deputy Secretary General of the Provincial Special Administration, who is among the detained defendants, stated, "I believe I am not guilty." At that moment, a complainant drew attention by shouting, "You know nothing from the position you got through favoritism. I know whose favoritism brought you here. I will reveal it on the last day."

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At the Grand Kartal Hotel located in Bolu Kartalkaya, the third hearing of the case regarding the fire disaster that claimed the lives of 78 people and injured 133 on January 21 is continuing at the Bolu 1st Heavy Criminal Court, where a total of 32 defendants, including 20 in custody, are being tried.

"AYGAZ THAT SOLD THE GAS, AYGAZ THAT MADE THE PROJECT, AYGAZ THAT CONDUCTED THE INSPECTION, BUT ONLY I AM IN CUSTODY"

During the hearing, the defendants and their lawyers began their defenses against the main opinion. The detained defendant Muharrem Şen, who worked as an LPG installation maintenance officer at Aygaz A. Ş., stated that the responsible party is AYGAZ and that he is just a high school graduate worker earning 34,000 lira a month, and made the following defense: "I have been in custody for 8 months due to Aygaz selling gas. They did not provide us with any information, training, or inspection rights regarding the project. There is no such clause in the contract. Here, Aygaz is escaping by saying that I have no responsibility. Since I am not an engineer, I cannot know what could cause. Aygaz sells the gas, Aygaz makes the project, Aygaz conducts the inspection, but only I am in custody. I want to ask Aygaz why they sold gas without a project. I have no agreement or contract with the hotel. Aygaz makes the contract with the hotel. I am someone who tries to live in Istanbul with a salary of 34,000 lira, working in a place where dozens of people should be employed, but only two people are working, and I go wherever they send me. I only did the tasks assigned to me. They threw me in front of you. I am innocent."

"WE DO NOT SEE ANY AUTHORIZED PERSON OR ENGINEER AS RESPONSIBLE IN FRONT OF YOU"

Şen's lawyer stated in his defense, "The license holder is Aygaz, not my client. My personnel do not have an inspection duty. If they did otherwise, it would be a reason for termination of the employment contract. They have been present at the hotel for periodic control after 21 years and have prepared and submitted the documents to Aygaz and the hotel. My personnel have no possibility of destroying evidence. They have already submitted the only document they have. My client has fulfilled his duty completely. Aygaz, which provides the gas supply and determines the instructions, but we do not see any authorized person or engineer as responsible in front of you. We cannot accept this. My client only went to the hotel at Aygaz's direction. We are talking about personnel who are obliged to comply with Aygaz's instructions. It is not fair to shift these responsibilities onto my personnel. There is a technical personnel present who does not have authority. He has no negligence or fault in the incident. It is not possible to punish him. We request his acquittal and release," he stated.

"THE WORKS MY CLIENT DOES ARE SIMPLE ELECTRICAL WORKS"

Doğan Aydın, who works as an LPG installer affiliated with Aygaz, expressed his innocence and requested his acquittal. Aydın's lawyer also stated in his defense, "My client is just a service personnel, just like Muharrem Şen. It is not a correct approach to punish everyone mentioned. It is one thing for a criminal to go unpunished, and another for an innocent person to be punished," he said.

Bayram Ütkü, a non-custodial defendant among the hotel's technical personnel, and detained defendant Hüseyin Özer also denied the accusations against them. Detained defendant Özer said, "I am the one who works at the hotel without insurance. I am an employee of Gazelle Hotel, which can be seen from past SGK records. After retiring from Kartal Hotel, I started working at Gazelle Hotel. I am very sorry, but I do not think I am guilty. I request my acquittal, and if you have a different opinion, I ask to be released under judicial control provisions," he said.

Özer's lawyer stated in his defense, "The works my client does are simple electrical works. They tell my client, 'There is a malfunction here, come and fix it,' and my client does it. There should have been an engineer supervisor at the hotel. But there isn't. My client learns about the deficiencies in the fire reports while in prison. He should not be held responsible for this," he said.

"IF I THOUGHT I WAS GUILTY, I WOULD HAVE ENDED MY OWN LIFE"

Among the detained defendants, Tahsin Pekcan, one of the hotel's technical personnel, made the following defense against the main opinion: "I was given a CMK lawyer who has no knowledge of this case. It is not possible for me to make this defense. For this reason, I have been victimized and had to prepare my own defense. My right to a fair trial has been violated. I have never been assigned to Grand Kartal Hotel. They only verbally told me at Gazelle Hotel, 'You are the chief.' I have only been to Grand Kartal Hotel twice this season. The work I did is not related to electricity. I added the welds made previously to the exit of the ski office and returned. To escape from the crime, both Bayram Ütkü and Hüseyin Özer are shifting the responsibility. I personally provided the location and passwords of the camera records of Grand Kartal Hotel, which most affected the trial. I did everything I could to clarify this incident. As a result of my efforts, the camera records that revealed the material truth of the incident have been watched by everyone. The people working at the hotel do not know me; if it were the other way around, everyone would know me. I am innocent. For 7-8 months, I have been asking myself if I have a crime. If I could find it, I would really end my own life. I have no slightest guilt. If you have found a crime against me, I am willing to serve years in prison."

TENSION IN THE HEARING

The lawyer of the non-custodial defendant, receptionist Yiğithan Burak Çetin, also stated, "My client is the one who made the first report to 112 and has informed his superiors. He has done his part. We request his acquittal." At this moment, the audience reacted to defendant Çetin and his lawyer, saying, "How can you defend him? May God curse you, murderers," for not calling the guests who stayed at the hotel during the fire.

Non-custodial defendant, occupational safety expert Kübra Demir, stated, "I have no responsibility in this tragic incident." Demir's lawyer argued, "My client has never been assigned or worked at Grand Kartal Hotel. Witness and defendant statements support this. There is not a single day of SGK record at Grand Kartal Hotel. There is a record at Gazelle Hotel. We cannot understand how an occupational safety expert can make an assessment in a place without an SGK record. I request my client's acquittal," he defended.

Non-custodial defendant occupational safety expert Ece Kayacan stated, "My assignment to Grand Kartal Hotel was made by mistake and has been canceled by the system.

I did not work at the burning hotel. Grand Kartal and Gazelle Hotel are two separate businesses. Additionally, there were no employees at the hotel on the date of the assignment. It is not realistic for me to work at a hotel that has no employees. My social security record has been registered through Gazelle Hotel. There is not a single piece of evidence against me in the file. I am innocent. I have no connection or responsibility regarding this hotel. I request my acquittal in light of concrete evidence.

“SHUT UP” TO THE PLAINTIFF WHO LOST HIS CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN IN THE FIRE

The defendant Kayacan's lawyer stated, "We do not accept the request for punishment for conscious negligence when my client's innocence is so clear. It is evident that my client learned about the assignment even in the later stages of the investigation," and requested acquittal. At that moment, when he said, "Tomorrow is October 29, Republic Day. There can be no republic without justice," Yüksel Gültekin, who lost his children and grandchildren, reacted by saying, "Don't make propaganda. Shut up," to which the defendant's lawyer replied, "You definitely shut up, sir." Following this, those who lost their relatives reacted to the lawyer. The lawyer said, "Our right to defense is being obstructed. We want equal treatment from the court panel towards both the plaintiff and the defendant."

The defendant, who works as a breakfast chef, Faysal Yaver, stated, "It is clear that I did not open the grill plate device. It has also been established that I am not a chef. I request my acquittal." Yaver's lawyer also stated, "Despite the indictment stating 'It has not been determined whether Faysal opened the grill plate device,' it is not even legal for him to be tried. It has been revealed during the trial that he did not open this device. We request his acquittal."

The lawyer of the kitchen chief, Reşat Bölük, said, "There can be no punishment without fault. My client has no fault in the occurrence of the incident or the spread of the fire. The responsible parties are clear here. We also want the culprits to be punished. My client barely escaped by jumping from the 8th floor. My client is also a plaintiff. We do not accept a collective request for punishment for all defendants in order to relieve society."

“I KNOW WHOSE INFLUENCE YOU CAME TO THAT CHAIR WITH, I WILL REVEAL IT ON THE LAST DAY”

Detained defendant, assistant accounting manager Mehmet Salun, made the following defense: "I barely saved my life. I may be one of the last people to escape from the hotel. It has been established that I was assigned to Grand Kartal Hotel, worked under instructions, and had no authority to make decisions. I only deal with accounting. It is clear that a worker who earns slightly more than the minimum wage in a hierarchical structure dominated by bosses has no influence or authority."

Salun's lawyer also stated, "How can he influence decision-making processes at the same level as the accounting manager? But he receives a quarter of the accounting manager's salary. He is not present in audits and is unaware of the deficiencies. The personnel accompanying the audit is Cemal Özer. We do not understand what is exactly expected from my client. My client cannot foresee that a fire will break out and its consequences. My client is an accounting employee and has no technical knowledge regarding fire prevention."

Detained defendant Cemal Özer, who worked in the hotel's accounting department, said, "I had to participate in the audit because there was no one at the hotel. I am an ordinary staff member. I do not have signing authority," while his lawyer requested his release and acquittal.

“I KNOW WHOSE INFLUENCE YOU CAME WITH. I WILL REVEAL IT ON THE LAST DAY”

Detained defendant Bünyamin Bal, Deputy Secretary General of Bolu Special Administration, stated, "I did not participate in any transaction. It is not possible for me to accept responsibility in a matter where my signature and initials are not present regarding the license. I believe I have no crime." Plaintiff Yüksel Gültekin responded to defendant Bal, saying, "You have no idea about anything in the chair you came to through influence. I know whose influence you came with. I will reveal it on the last day." Bal's lawyer also requested acquittal. So far, a total of 18 defendants have made their defenses, and the hearing has been adjourned until October 30 at 09:00.