08.07.2025 17:43
In the first hearing of the case regarding the Grand Kartal Hotel fire, in which 78 people lost their lives, the victim's families are waiting at the door before entering the courtroom. Özgül Eryaman, who lost her nephew in the fire, said, "We came from Ankara. We could have gone inside today, but we can't bear to see that atmosphere. We don't want to confront it."
The first hearing of the trial in which 32 defendants are being tried for the fire disaster that claimed the lives of 78 people on January 21 at the Grand Kartal Hotel located in Bolu Kartalkaya, one of Turkey's important ski resorts, continues on its second day.
THE WAIT OF DEFENDANTS AND VICTIM FAMILIES While the trial is ongoing, the relatives of the victims and defendants continue to wait on the closed street surrounding the school where the trial is being held. Families are sitting on chairs under the canopies set up by the municipality around the school. While police teams maintain their precautions at the entrances, food and drink are being provided from the municipality's service vehicle. Those coming from other provinces are staying in hotels; the relatives of the defendants and victims, as well as other citizens following the trial, arrive at the area where the trial is held in the morning hours.
"IT IS VERY HARD TO BE TRIED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FAMILIES WITH SO MUCH PAIN" Elif Özel (26), daughter of the detained defendant Mehmet Özel, the former Director of Licensing and Inspection of the Provincial Special Administration, said, "It is a tiring process for us. It is very hard for us to be tried on the other side of families with so much pain. Even though we do not experience this pain as much as they do, we try to support them. Of course, we are with my father. We are here, we are also sad in the same way. Hopefully, justice will be served correctly, and we are waiting for that. We are trying to continue with life. We see the people here, we see that they are sad. We can witness their pain to some extent. This is sad and exhausting for us. We miss our father very much, we want to see him, but we are struggling during these processes. It is hard for us to be caught in between. We are trying to continue with life. On the one hand, our minds are always here, our day goes on like this. Hopefully, justice will be served. The pain of those who are suffering will not go away, their losses will not be replaced, but I hope a drop of water will be sprinkled into their hearts," she said.
Özgül Eryaman "WE DID NOT ENTER, WE DO NOT WANT TO CONFRONT" Özgül Eryaman (60), who lost her nephew Eren Bağcı in the fire, said, "Unfortunately, we lost our Eren in Bolu. We came from Ankara. We could have entered today, but we cannot bear to see that atmosphere. We do not want to confront. We come here right in the morning. We are here until the trial is over, until 11-12. We are here all day. For our 78 souls, so that it does not happen again. We are staying at a hotel, we just come in the morning and go back to sleep at night. The Bolu Municipality and the local tradesmen have helped us. We are meeting our needs this way. There is no shortage, we are satisfied. We just expected more support from the people of Bolu; we expected them to support us more. All our acquaintances from surrounding provinces came, but since it is a weekday, everyone is working. We would have liked the people of Bolu to support us," she said.