30.10.2025 15:24
While the third hearing of the Kartalkaya disaster case was ongoing, it was claimed that four months before the fire, the hotel owner Halit Ergül's daughter, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, organized a holiday marketing event for the Grand Kartal Hotel at the Gazelle Hotel aimed at students and their parents. A photo showing 9-year-old Doğa, who lost her life in the tragedy, alongside the owners of the Grand Kartal Hotel devastated those who saw it.
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While the third hearing of the case regarding the Grand Kartal Hotel fire in Bolu, which claimed the lives of 78 people, continues on the third day, Uğurtan Doğan, who lost his son Mert (41), daughter-in-law Duygu (40), and grandchildren Doğa (9) and Mavi (7) in the disaster, and businessman Rıfat Doğan, who lost his wife Ceren Yaman (45) and daughter Lalin (16) in the hotel fire, made statements to the press.
"THE REASON MY CHILDREN BECAME VICTIMS OF MURDER IS THIS EVENT" Uğurtan Doğan stated that the event that led to the death of his children was a marketing event organized by the hotel owner Halit Ergül's daughter Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu at the Gazelle Hotel four months before the fire, aimed at students and their parents at the Grand Kartal Hotel.
Doğan said, "My statement today is not related to the hearing inside. It is about the marketing event that Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu held at the school, which we mentioned in our initial negotiations and defenses. My little granddaughter Mavi Doğan is in the same class as Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu's son, in Istanbul, and unfortunately, in this massacre, organized by Ms. Ceyda, our children also attended. Unfortunately, we lost them there. But we learned that there was an event in previous incidents as well. My daughter-in-law's phone was just found. We retrieved it from the safe and managed to unlock it. In the photos that came out, I believe you all have this photo. In October, four months before this massacre, there was again an organization with some class students and their parents at the school. We saw the pictures from the other hotel, the Gazelle Hotel, and it is very painful that if you looked at those pictures, the girl on the far left is my eldest granddaughter Doğa. In the second photo, you can see my son, daughter-in-law, and my children, that is, my grandchildren, having breakfast with Ms. Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu and other board members. Why am I telling this? Here, especially in the initial defenses, they entered into a series of inconsistent defenses like, 'our board memberships are only on paper, we have no activities, no authority.' But here, unfortunately, the reason my children became victims of this murder is this marketing event held at the school," he said.
Uğurtan Doğan "DIDN'T A SINGLE ONE OF YOU GET INJURED OR LOSE YOUR LIFE?" Uğurtan Doğan, stating that the hotel owners lost their own children while escaping from the fire, said, "This marketing event was organized by my daughter-in-law's friend, who is also a close friend. Now friends, can you imagine? You take the children from school, you take them, on the same floor my son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons are staying. Come on, didn't a single one of you get injured or lose your life? Seventy-eight lost lives are our lives. 137 injured are also our lives. But unfortunately, how bad and painful it is that not a single official of the hotel, no board member, and no employee has even been injured! Can such a thing happen, friends? Everyone saw it. Thanks to all of you, these have already been reflected in the press. They slip out like this. But our children are completely left to God there. I mean, their loss of life is unfortunately the result of both the event held at the Gazelle Hotel in October and the last event held at the Grand Kartal Hotel on January 20-21. As a result of these marketing activities held in schools, my children, my grandchildren have unfortunately lost their lives in an event where they were called by the hotel owners and left to a massacre, while they themselves escaped and saved themselves," he expressed.
"THEY SAVED THEIR LIVES AND ATE THEIR BANANAS AND MEALS" Rıfat Doğan, who lost his wife and daughter in the disaster, stated that Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu left people to die, saying, "As Uğurtan brother said, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu gathered people with the marketing she did at school and then slipped away, leaving them to die. Just like my wife passed in front of Elif Aras and Emir's room without giving any news of my daughter. At the same time, when I reached my daughter's phone, I had previously mentioned that I gathered the courage to open the phone, and at noon, my wife took pictures with Emine Murtaza Ergül, and in the evening, they sat and had coffee with Emine Murtaza Ergül. In the morning, when I first went down, I encountered Emine Murtaza Ergül. I asked, 'Sister, where is she?' Ceren and Lalin said, 'I don't know at all, Rıfat, the survivors are at Dorukkaya,' she said. I mean, until morning, you took pictures with someone you were intertwined with at noon, you had coffee with them in the evening, and you didn't even call to check on them until I came. Not a single unanswered call! 'Where are you, what happened, did you survive?' or 'Get up, wake up!' Not at all, as I said, she didn't even wake them up. They are unfortunately bad from start to finish. I mean, ignorance, ignorance, everything aside, but they are evil. They completely left and later saved their lives and sat down to eat their bananas and meals. That's all I have to say. We trust in justice. We believe that the necessary decision will be made. We trust the president of the court and the committee," he stated.
Rıfat Doğan 32 DEFENDANTS ARE BEING TRIED In the fire that broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya Ski Resort on January 21, 78 people lost their lives, and 133 people were injured.
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In the indictment prepared by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office as part of the investigation into the incident; hotel owners, board members, and managers Halit Ergül, Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, Elif Aras, Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, Kadir Özdemir, Cemal Özer, Mehmet Salun, as well as Bolu Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Acting Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar are facing a total of 1998 years in prison for the crimes of 'Possible Intentional Murder' and 'Possible Intentional Injury' with 78 counts each.
The indictment also requests that the technical staff of the hotel, Tahsin Pekcan, Hüseyin Özer, and Bayram Ütkü, kitchen staff Reşat Bölük, Enver Öztürk, and Faysal Yaver, occupational safety experts Kübra Demir and Ece Kayacan, receptionist Yiğithan Burak Çetin, officials of Mudurnu Energy Industry and Trade Inc. İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, FQC Global Certification Inc. official Ali Ağaoğlu and employee Aleyna Beşinci, LPG installation maintenance staff Doğan Aydın and Muharrem Şen, Bolu Provincial Special Administration Secretary Sırrı Köstereli, Bolu Provincial Special Administration Deputy Secretary Bünyamin Bal, Bolu Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director Yeliz Erdoğan, and former Bolu Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director Mehmet Özel be sentenced to up to 22 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of 'Causing the death and injury of multiple persons with conscious negligence.'
FIRST HEARING LASTED 10 DAYS The first hearing, which started on July 7 at the gymnasium of Bolu Social Sciences High School and lasted for 10 days, heard all the defendants, complainants, and witnesses. In the announced interim decision; it was decided to release the detained defendant, the hotel's breakfast chef assistant Faysal Yaver, with a travel ban abroad. It was also ruled that the non-detained defendant firefighter İrfan Acar, who was conducting inspections at the hotel, be arrested. The continuation of the house arrest measure applied to non-detained defendants İbrahim Polat, Chairman of the Board of Mudurnu A. Ş., İsmail Karagöz, an official of Mudurnu A. Ş., receptionist Yiğithan Burak Çetin, and Ali Ağaoğlu, owner of FQC Inspection Company, was decided. The continuation of the detention status of the detained defendants was ruled.
NUMBER OF DETAINEES INCREASED TO 20 The second hearing of the case started on September 22 and lasted for 2 days. At the end of the hearing, the court panel announced an interim decision regarding the detention status and judicial control measures for 32 defendants. The court panel decided to continue the detention of the detained defendants, the house arrest of those under house arrest, the arrest of non-detained defendant Mehmet Salun, and the continuation of judicial controls, and postponed the hearing.
THIRD HEARING ONE DAY APART The third hearing of the case began on October 27 at the gymnasium of Bolu Social Sciences High School. During the hearing on Monday, the relatives of the deceased were given the floor. The hearing was adjourned in the evening. The hearing resumed on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday, some of the defendants made their defenses regarding the indictment. The hearing was adjourned in the evening, and due to the Republic Day on October 29, no hearing was held yesterday. This morning, the hearing resumed. Those who lost their relatives and the lawyers of the parties were allowed into the hall under strict security measures. The defendants also entered the courtroom from a special area created under strict security measures.