24.10.2026 13:30
In the case of the explosion that occurred on June 30, 2024 at a şırdan restaurant in the Torbalı district of İzmir, in which 5 people lost their lives and 63 people were injured, the appellate court overturned the local court's decision. Mustafa Koç, who changed the cylinder, was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months, and business owner Gülden Kul to 8 years and 4 months in prison. The chamber requested that the contradictions in the expert reports be resolved and that conscious negligence be discussed. The defendants will appear before the judge again on November 26.
In the explosion in the Torbalı district of İZMİR at a restaurant selling şırdan, in which 5 people died and 63 were injured, the verdict sentencing defendants Mustafa Koç to 10 years 10 months, business owner Gülden Kul to 8 years 4 months, and Osman İnce, Aegean Region manager of the cylinder company, to a fine of 364 thousand lira, was overturned by the appellate court. The court ruled that contradictions in expert reports obtained during the trial must be resolved and conscious negligence must be discussed, and sent the file back to the local court.
An explosion occurred at around 15:00 on June 30, 2024, at the workplace selling şırdan on Barış Manço Street in Ayrancılar Neighborhood of Torbalı district. In the explosion, Ruken Çağur (31), Evin Aslan (36), her sibling Birgül Sarsılmaz (44), Havin Ergin (17), and Dilek Bağ (24) lost their lives, and 63 people were injured. The building where the explosion occurred suffered major damage, while the windows and frames of 10 surrounding buildings were broken. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals. After the incident, materials at the restaurant were seized by the gendarmerie for examination. Teams from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change conducted damage assessment work at the damaged building and workplaces at the scene. Two assigned inspectors conducted an investigation.
THE WORKPLACE HAD BEEN UNLICENSED FOR 6 MONTHS
After the explosion, Mustafa Koç, alleged to have changed the cylinder, and business owner Gülden Kul, who was caught in Menderes district, were arrested. It was determined that the workplace where the explosion occurred had been unlicensed for 6 months. It was stated that in the statement of business owner Gülden Kul, who applied to the municipality for a license on May 29, 2024, she said she changed the cylinder and there was no problem. It was recorded that Mustafa Koç, who changed the cylinder, said in his statement that he carried out the proper procedure.
After the investigation into the incident, an indictment was prepared. The prosecutor prepared an indictment against Gülden Kul and Mustafa Koç, as well as Osman İnce, the Aegean Region manager of the cylinder company, who was stated to have been negligent in the incident and was a defendant not in custody, requesting a prison sentence of 2 to 15 years each for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of more than one person by negligence.' During the trial at the Torbalı High Criminal Court, defendant Gülden Kul was released with house arrest. At the verdict hearing held on November 12, 2025, Mustafa Koç, who changed the cylinder, was sentenced to 10 years 10 months; business owner Gülden Kul to 8 years 4 months; and Osman İnce, Aegean Region manager of the cylinder company, to 2.5 years in prison. The prison sentence given to İnce was converted into a fine of 364 thousand TL.
EXPERT REPORTS FOUND CONTRADICTORY
Upon the objections of the lawyers, the file was taken to appeal. The 19th Penal Chamber of the Izmir Regional Court of Justice concluded that, regarding Gülden Kul, the report obtained from the expert panel consisting of ITU faculty members was not sufficient and did not include a legal examination. It was emphasized that the expert report commissioned by the Torbalı Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was stated to be consistent with the scope of the file and the occurrence, and thus the report of the expert panel at the investigation stage was relied upon; whereas regarding Mustafa Koç, the report obtained from the expert panel consisting of ITU faculty members was taken as basis in a way that created a contradiction with the assessment concerning Gülden Kul. Regarding Osman İnce, it was stated that the additional expert report obtained during the investigation and the report obtained from the expert panel consisting of ITU faculty members were taken as basis, and that there was no assessment regarding the defendants' degree of fault.
The Penal Chamber ruled that it was not considered that the defendants' legal status should be assessed after obtaining a report on whether there was any fault attributable to the defendants, the deceased, or a third party in the incident, and if so, what the degree of fault was. The Penal Chamber emphasized that the defendants' legal status should be assessed after obtaining a report from a 5-person expert panel to be composed of expert faculty members working in the chemistry, mechanical, metallurgy and materials engineering, petroleum and natural gas, and civil engineering departments of universities' technical faculties, who are also occupational and social security experts. On the other hand, it was underlined that it must be discussed whether Koç and Kul's actions reached the level of conscious negligence.
THEY WILL APPEAR BEFORE A JUDGE AGAIN ON NOVEMBER 26
While it was stated that the Torbalı District Governorship granted permission to investigate municipal officials, it was also ordered to investigate the outcome of the investigation concerning those officials. For these reasons, the Penal Chamber, which did not find the local court's decision lawful, sent the file back to the local court. The defendants will appear before a judge again at the Torbalı High Criminal Court on November 26.