16.01.2026 15:57
In the Nizip district of Gaziantep, fugitive defendant Hasan Hüseyin S. appeared before the judge for the first time in the case of the Furkan Apartment, which collapsed in the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, resulting in the deaths of 51 people. Defendant Hasan Hüseyin S. stated, "After the February 6 earthquakes, 2 of my factories closed. I had to lay off hundreds of workers. I was awarded the title of Gaziantep's best contractor of the year."
The trial of the Furkan Apartment case, which collapsed in the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6 and caused the death of 51 people, was held today in the Nizip district of Gaziantep. The hearing at the Nizip Heavy Penal Court was attended by the defendants Faik Ö., Eyüp Ö., Bülent B., Nejdet A., Mehmet A., Oktay A., Ömer Ş., Coşkun Ş., their lawyers, the lawyers of the victims, and relatives of the victims. The detained defendants Hasan Hüseyin S. and the defendant Yılmaz Şahin Y., who is under house arrest, participated via SEGBİS.
"I SAW THE COLUMN BEING CUT"
Mehmet S.Ç., who was heard as a witness during the hearing, said, "I saw the column being cut. We were selling cars there. I was also working there as a laborer. I saw the columns being cut and tried to intervene. However, Coşkun Ş. and those with him cut the columns. It was between 2001-2002. The other partners, Nejdet A., also knew that the columns were being cut," he stated.
"DURING THIS TIME, 2 OF MY FACTORIES CLOSED"
Hasan Hüseyin S., the detained defendant who defended himself for the first time in court, said, "I am a construction contractor with 35 years of experience. During this time, I built tens of thousands of buildings. None of the buildings I built collapsed in the disaster of the century. I did not build the Furkan Apartment. Throughout my professional life, I have been the best contractor in Gaziantep. Contractors live in the houses I built, not in their own houses. I have no connection with the Furkan Apartment. My brother Abdullah Sever built the building. My biggest mistake was to hide. People around me told me that Abdullah was hiding, and I should hide too, otherwise, they said I would be arrested due to public pressure. That is why I hid. They made me a scapegoat. During that time, I waited for the security deposit and surrendered. During this time, 2 of my factories closed. I had to lay off hundreds of workers. I received the title of the best contractor of the year in Gaziantep. I am a hypertension patient. I request my acquittal," he expressed.
THE UNDETAINED DEFENDANTS REQUESTED ACQUITTAL
The lawyer of the fugitive defendant Abdullah Devrim S. argued that Hasan Hüseyin S. was blaming his brother for the crime. The prosecution requested a new investigation in the field, the continuation of the detention of Hasan Hüseyin S., and the continuation of judicial controls for the other defendants. The court panel rejected the prosecution's request for an investigation, deciding to continue the detention of Hasan Hüseyin S. and the judicial control conditions for the other defendants, and postponed the case to January 23. The panel stated that the final decision would be made on January 23.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In the decision hearing held by the Nizip Heavy Penal Court on July 19, 2024, the engineer defendant Yılmaz Şahin Yurtyapan was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison for 'causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence', while defendants Faik Ö., his brother Eyüp Ö., and Nejdet A. were acquitted due to lack of evidence. The 16th Criminal Chamber of the Gaziantep Regional Court of Appeals reviewed the decision made by the Nizip Heavy Penal Court regarding the Furkan Apartment case, which collapsed in the February 6 earthquakes and resulted in the deaths of 51 people. Following the evaluation made upon the objections of the Nizip Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the parties, the chamber overturned the local court's decision. In the decision, it was stated that a new indictment was prepared against the acquitted defendants Faik Ö. and his brother Eyüp Ö. regarding the allegation of "cutting columns," and therefore the incident should be evaluated as a whole. It was noted in the decision that the files should be combined and the defendants should be tried together, stating, "It has been decided to combine all files, and while discussing all evidence together is necessary for a fair trial, the decision made by the local court has been overturned."