02.09.2026 15:41
In the case regarding the incident in which İnanç Öktemay (44) and Özge Ceren Deniz (23) lost their lives after being electrocuted on the street during a downpour in Izmir, the third expert report has been added to the file. The report stated that the disaster did not stem from a single momentary mistake, but rather that deficiencies in infrastructure, construction, protection, and intervention spanning from 2015 to 2024 collectively played a role. The expert panel found 3 defendants primarily and heavily at fault, while attributing no fault to 13 defendants.
In the case regarding the deaths of İnanç Öktemay (44) and Özge Ceren Deniz (23), who were electrocuted on the street during a downpour in İzmir, the 3rd expert report was submitted to the file in the case heard at the 14th Criminal Chamber of the İzmir Regional Court of Justice. The report stated that the incident did not occur as a result of a single sudden error, but that infrastructure and intervention deficiencies that developed over a period spanning 2015-2024 were influential.
On July 12, 2024, due to the downpour that started around 18:00 in the city, streets in many districts were flooded with water. Özge Ceren Deniz, a medical faculty student at İzmir Democracy University who sought shelter from the downpour, was electrocuted on the water-filled road. İnanç Öktemay, who dealt with second-hand goods sales and tried to save Deniz, was also electrocuted and collapsed instantly. Deniz and Öktemay lost their lives in the hospital where they were taken. İnanç Öktemay was laid to rest in İzmir, and Özge Ceren Deniz in Osmaniye. Following the incident, an investigation was launched, and within its scope, prison sentences of up to 15 years each were sought for 42 people on charges of 'negligent homicide'. Since the crime was committed with conscious negligence, it was requested that the punishment to be given to the defendants be increased by half, up to 22 years and 6 months, in accordance with Article 22/3 of the Turkish Penal Code. İnanç Öktemay's family withdrew from the case during the trial process.
COURT RENDERED ITS DECISION In the verdict hearing held at the İzmir 10th Heavy Penal Court last October, the sentences were announced. The panel sentenced Ali Külak, Doğan Kılıç, Fırat Akbay, and Mesut Türkan to 10 years in prison, and Ahmet Orhan Kaygısız, Arif Kapuş, Mehmet Fatih Tosun, Mehmet Zeki Aytulun, Mert Ceylan, Alper Doğan, Erman Çarık, Hamza Bayram, Abdülkadir Satık, Mürsel Arıcı, Yavuz Üner, and Cenan Demircan to 8 years and 9 months in prison. The panel sentenced Alara Ekli, Ahmet Demircan, Barış Sevgili, Cengiz Topel Demircan, Deniz Sunal, İbrahim Şara, Koray Arif Fırat, and Volkan Şirin to 5 years, and Ali Arcan, Ekrem Yıldırım, Mustafa Atakan, Necati Ergin, Sefa Pişkinleblebici, and Zekeriye Tığtepe to 4 years and 2 months in prison. While Ahmet Çelik, Erkut Bozkurt, Hakan Günay, Halit Özpelit, Serhat Ekin, Tahsin Erdoğan, Ufuk Eryılmaz, Uğur Yüksel, and Mehmet Zeki Alkan were acquitted, the file of 1 defendant living abroad was separated. The panel also decided to arrest the 5 defendants who were on trial without detention. Thus, the number of detained defendants increased to 15.
APPEAL OVERTURNED THE DECISION Following the objections of the parties, the file was taken to the appeals court. The 14th Criminal Chamber of the İzmir Regional Court of Justice, which reviewed the file, overturned the local court's decisions. The Criminal Chamber ordered a retrial for the defendants Cengiz Topel Demircan, Ahmet Demircan, Cenan Demircan, Volkan Şirin, Mustafa Atakan, Necati Ergin, Ali Arcan, Mehmet Fatih Tosun, Mert Ceylan, Koray Arif Fırat, Ekrem Yıldırım, and Sefa Pişkinleblebici. Additionally, it was decided to reject the release requests of Mehmet Zeki Aytulun, Arif Kapuş, and Doğan Kılıç due to the nature and character of the crime attributed to them and the existing evidence situation.
NO DETAINED DEFENDANTS REMAINED The Criminal Chamber ordered the release of the defendants, taking into account the time they had spent in detention: Gediz Operations Team Manager Abdülkadir Satık, Gediz Technical Chief Ahmet Orhan Kaygısız, Gediz Fault Repair Manager Ali Külak, Gediz Operations Manager Alper Doğan, Gediz Electrical Technician Erman Çarık, Gediz Fault Repair Personnel Fırat Akbay, Gediz inspection officer Hamza Bayram, Gediz Fault Repair Manager Mehmet Fatih Tosun, Gediz fault engineer Mert Ceylan, Gediz fault repair master Mesut Türkan, and Gediz construction affairs assistant expert Mürsel Arıcı. The judicial control condition for the defendant Yavuz Üner was lifted. The Criminal Chamber also ordered that the file be referred to a 5-member expert committee to be composed of expert faculty members from ITU/ODTU, and that a report be prepared on determining the fault statuses of the defendants, the deceased, and third parties in the occurrence of the incident. In the hearing held at the appeals court last May, the detained defendants were released, and no detained defendants remained in the case. On the other hand, the trial also began for İZSU General Manager Gürkan Erdoğan, former İZSU General Manager Ali Hıdır Köseoğlu, former İZSU General Directorate Sewerage Department Head Barış Koç, İZSU Deputy General Manager Serdar Sadi, former İZSU General Directorate Sewerage Department South Region Manager Ömer Karabilgin, and İZSU General Directorate Sewerage Department South Region Directorate Engineer Ezgi Nazaroğlu.
3RD EXPERT REPORT IN THE FILE The 3rd expert report prepared within the scope of the case was also added to the file. The report stated that a process extending from 2015 to 2024 was influential in the occurrence of the incident. The report included the determination that in 2015, sufficient depth and mechanical protection conditions could not be ensured in the project, construction, inspection, and acceptance processes of the underground electrical cable. It was assessed that the incident did not occur as a result of a single sudden error, but that long-term infrastructure design flaws and structural deficiencies were also effective in the incident.
It was stated that in the rainwater manufacturing dated January 3-4, 2024, no intervention was made to the narrow infrastructure corridor where the electrical cable was located, and in the fault repair dated January 9, 2024, a temporary intervention was made instead of permanently eliminating the risk. The report also stated that the incident occurred as a result of the combined effect of the inadequate drainage of surface water and the protection system that could not isolate the phase-to-ground fault within a safe time. The expert committee found Doğan Kılıç and GDZ Elektrik employees Fırat Akbay and Mesut Türkan to be primarily-heavily at fault. The report assessed that 6 defendants were primarily-secondarily at fault, 7 defendants were secondarily-strongly at fault, and 10 defendants were secondarily-weakly at fault. No fault was attributed to 13 defendants. The trial of the defendants will continue on September 4 at the 14th Criminal Chamber of the İzmir Regional Court of Justice.