08.12.2025 15:25
The reasoning for the decisions made in the case involving 32 defendants related to the Grand Kartal Hotel fire in Bolu, which resulted in the deaths of 78 people, has been announced. It was stated that the hotel managers, despite being the first individuals to learn about the fire on the day of the incident, did not inform anyone and left the hotel.
In the case related to the Grand Kartal Hotel fire, which resulted in the death of 78 people and injuries to 137 others, 11 defendants, including hotel owner Halit Ergül, were sentenced to life imprisonment 34 times for the 34 children who lost their lives in the fire. The 11 defendants were also sentenced to 24 years and 11 months in prison 44 times for the 44 adults who died in the fire. The reasoning for the decision has been announced.
"NO ACTION WAS TAKEN FOR THE EVACUATION OF THOSE IN THE HOTEL"
In the 406-page ruling announced by the Bolu 1st High Criminal Court, the opinion, statements of the defendants, complainants, and witnesses, expert reports, the scene and fire department reports, camera recordings, and other documents were included. The ruling stated that although the hotel management defendants were the first to learn about the fire on the day of the incident, they did not inform the people staying in the hotel about the fire and did not take any action for their evacuation, leaving the hotel without notifying anyone about the fire.
"CRUCIAL MINUTES WERE WASTED"
The ruling emphasized that deficiencies related to fire extinguishing in the hotel, faulty stair and elevator structures, and gas evacuation systems, combined with personnel who had no fire training, led to the critical minutes at the beginning of the fire being wasted, resulting in the disaster's scale increasing. It was stated, "It has been understood that the defendants have been engaged in tourism and hotel management for years, that they claim to have grown from the ground up, that they are educated in tourism, that they have been continuously involved in company management, and that all of them hold significant positions in management."
The ruling recorded the following:
"As stated in some witness and complainant statements that our court has taken into account, the management's statements of 'do not inform the guests, wake the staff, extinguish the fire' are consistent with the HTS and records and camera recordings, considering that the hotel staff were aware of the fire from the very first moment and that the hotel staff staying and on duty on different floors of the hotel managed to escape the fire, it is understood that this instruction resulted in the 'golden time' during the fire not being used to save the guests staying in the hotel."
"CONSCIOUS NEGLIGENCE ELEMENTS WERE EXCEEDED"
The ruling indicated that the outcome occurred as a result of multiple negligent actions by the defendants, stating, "It cannot be said that the defendants would not have occurred or would not have been desired, and it has been exceeded beyond that, indicating that the elements of conscious negligence have been surpassed. The defendants did not take any measures to prevent the anticipated possible outcome or did not take necessary actions for it, and despite being aware of the deficiencies related to the fire in the hotel, they acted with intentional actions and procedures to cancel it, and by acting with the intent of 'whatever happens' regarding the anticipated possible outcome, it has been accepted that the defendants are responsible for the objectively foreseeable and preventable grave nature of the outcome with possible intent."
COURT DECISION
The court panel sentenced the detained defendants, hotel owner Halit Ergül, hotel general manager Emir Aras, 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, Bolu Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Acting Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar to life imprisonment 34 times for "intentional killing" against 34 children.
Additionally, the 11 defendants who were sentenced to 24 years and 11 months in prison 44 times for "intentional killing" regarding the 44 adults who lost their lives in the fire were also sentenced to 3 years and 12 months in prison for "intentionally damaging property with multiple people."
The court panel also sentenced the 11 defendants for "intentional aggravated injury due to the result," "intentional aggravated injury against a person who cannot defend themselves physically or mentally due to the result," "intentional injury," "intentional injury against a person who cannot defend themselves physically or mentally," "intentional simple injury," "intentional simple injury against a woman," "intentional simple injury against a person who cannot defend themselves physically or mentally," and "intentional simple injury against a woman (girl child) who cannot defend herself physically or mentally."
Among these crimes, Halit Ergül, Emir Aras, Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Elif Aras, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, Zeki Yılmaz, and Ahmet Demir received a total of 41 years, 721 months, and 600 days, Kadir Özdemir, Sedat Gülener, and Kenan Coşkun received a total of 41 years, 708 months, and 590 days, and İrfan Acar received a total of 41 years, 679 months, and 560 days in prison.
The panel sentenced accounting personnel 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, technical personnel chief Tahsin Pekcan, technical personnel Hüseyin Özer, certification company official Ali Ağaoğlu and employee Aleyna Beşinci, Mudurnu Energy Industry and Trade Inc. officials İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, Provincial Special Administration Secretary Sırrı Köstereli, Provincial Special Administration Deputy Secretary Bünyamin Bal, former Bolu Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director Mehmet Özel, and Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director Yeliz Erdoğan to 21 years each, and technical personnel Bayram Ütkü to 18 years in prison for "causing the death and injury of multiple people through negligence."
The panel sentenced reception officer Yiğithan Burak Çetin to 12 years in prison for "causing the death and injury of multiple people through negligence," while acquitting kitchen staff Faysal Yaver and Enver Öztürk and occupational safety expert Ece Kayacan.
The panel did not apply "discretionary reduction" in prison sentences, decided to continue the detention of the detained defendants, to arrest İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, to apply the judicial control measure of "not leaving the residence" for Doğan Aydın, and to continue the other judicial control provisions regarding some defendants.