15.01.2026 16:29
The Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has filed an appeal regarding the sentences given for the hotel fire that resulted in the deaths of 78 people.
The Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has filed an appeal regarding the sentences given for the hotel fire that resulted in the deaths of 78 people. In the appeal, it was requested that some of the defendants, including the hotel owner's wife, two daughters, and the hotel manager, who were sentenced for the crime of 'intentional killing and injury', be punished for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence', while it was also requested that the two acquitted defendants be sentenced. If the appeal is accepted, it will be possible to overturn the life sentences and impose a sentence of only up to 22 years on these defendants.
In the fire that broke out at the Grand Kartal Hotel on January 21, 2025, 78 people lost their lives, and 133 people were injured. Following the fire, the defendants who were tried at the Bolu Heavy Penal Court were sentenced on October 31, 2025. The detained defendants, including hotel owner Halit Ergül, board members of the company Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Elif Aras, and Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, hotel manager Zeki Yılmaz, Gazelle Hotel General Manager Ahmet Demir, hotel accounting manager Kadir Özdemir, hotel general manager Emir Aras, Bolu Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Acting Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar, were each sentenced to life imprisonment 34 times for the crime of 'intentional killing' against 34 children. The same defendants were also sentenced to 24 years and 11 months in prison 44 times for the crime of 'intentional killing' concerning 44 adults who lost their lives in the fire.
OTHER DEFENDANTS SENTENCED FOR 'CONSCIOUS NEGLIGENCE'
The panel sentenced Grand Kartal Hotel accounting staff Cemal Özer and Mehmet Salun to 22 years and 3 months, LPG installation maintenance personnel Doğan Aydın and Muharrem Şen, and Occupational Safety Expert Kübra Demir to 21 years and 4 months and 15 days, kitchen staff Reşat Bölük, hotel technical staff Tahsin Pekcan and Hüseyin Özer, audit company officials Ali Ağaoğlu, audit company employee Aleyna Beşinci, officials of the company operating the café İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, General Secretary of the Provincial Special Administration Sırrı Köstereli, Deputy General Secretary of the Provincial Special Administration Bünyamin Bal, former Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director Mehmet Özel, and Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director Yeliz Erdoğan to 21 years each, hotel receptionist Yigithan Burak Çetin to 12 years, and hotel technical staff Bayram Ütkü to 18 years in prison.
2 DEFENDANTS ACQUITTED
The panel decided to acquit kitchen staff Faysal Yaver, occupational safety expert Ece Kayacan, and kitchen staff Enver Öztürk. The court panel decided to continue the detention of the defendants, to arrest İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, and to impose a judicial control measure of 'not leaving the residence' on Doğan Aydın. Additionally, 11 defendants who were sentenced for 'intentional killing' were convicted of various degrees of 'injury' and 'damage to property'.
PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE: THE HOTEL OWNER'S WIFE AND 2 DAUGHTERS SHOULD BE TRIED FOR 'CONSCIOUS NEGLIGENCE'
The Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office filed an appeal to be submitted to the Regional Court of Appeals Criminal Division regarding the sentences given. In the appeal, it was stated that Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, and Elif Aras, who are members of the board of directors of Grand Kartal Hotel and were sentenced for the crime of 'intentional killing and injury', should be punished for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence'.
REQUEST MADE FOR THE HOTEL MANAGER AS WELL
The appeal also stated that hotel manager Zeki Yılmaz, who was sentenced for the crimes of 'intentional killing and injury', failed to provide training and drills on fire safety to hotel reception staff, was responsible for ensuring that the fire panel, smoke detectors, and alarm systems were operational, did not fulfill the requirements of this responsibility, and did not conduct drills and training for the reception staff regarding the relevant systems. It was noted that there was no evidence in the file indicating that he acted to cancel the inspection conducted by Bolu Municipality Fire Department officials on December 16, 2024, regarding the deficiencies identified in terms of fire safety, and that the outcome was foreseeable by the defendant, indicating that he acted carelessly and negligently, and was at fault in the occurrence of the incident, thus requesting that he be tried for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence'.
PENALTY REQUEST FOR 2 ACQUITTED DEFENDANTS
The appeal reminded that kitchen staff Faysal Yaver and Occupational Safety Expert Ece Kayacan, who were acquitted, should be punished for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence'. It was also stated that Ali Ağaoğlu, an official of FQC Global Certification Inc., and company employee Aleyna Beşinci should be sentenced for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of multiple people by negligence'.
It was expressed that the former general secretary of Bolu Provincial Special Administration Sırrı Köstereli, Deputy General Secretary of the Provincial Special Administration Bünyamin Bal, Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Branch Manager Yeliz Erdoğan, and former Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Branch Manager Mehmet Özel, who were sentenced for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of multiple people with conscious negligence', should also be sentenced for the crime of 'causing the death and injury of multiple people by negligence'.