09.02.2026 19:22
A new indictment has been prepared regarding the fire at a cosmetics factory in the Dilovası district of Kocaeli, which resulted in the deaths of 7 workers. The indictment demands life imprisonment for the company officials on charges of "intentional homicide."
In the investigation regarding the fire at the cosmetics factory in the Dilovası district of Kocaeli, which resulted in the death of 7 workers, the indictment that was returned due to deficiencies has been reorganized and submitted to the court after the completed examinations; in the indictment, life imprisonment is requested for the company officials for the crime of "intentional killing" seven times each.
A fire broke out at the cosmetics factory located on Mimar Sinan Street in the Mimar Sinan neighborhood of Dilovası on November 8 last year around 09:00.
7 WORKERS LOST THEIR LIVES In the fire, Şengül Yılmaz (55), Tuğba Taşdemir (18), Nisa Taşdemir (17), Cansu Esetoğlu (16), Esma Gikan (65), Hanım Gülek (65), and Tuncay Yıldız (48) lost their lives. Among the 11 suspects detained as part of the investigation, company owner Kurtuluş Oransal, company officials İsmail Oransal, Altay Ali Oransal, Aleyna Oransal, and Gökberk Güngör were arrested on charges of "intentional killing"; Ali Osman Akat and Onay Yürüklü were arrested on charges of "aiding a criminal." Suspects G. B., H. E., Ö. A., and Güven Demirbaş were released under judicial control. Kurtuluş Oransal, the factory owner, who suffered a heart attack in the prison where he was held on November 30, 2025, and was taken to Kocaeli City Hospital, passed away.
MANY NAMES SUSPENDED As part of the investigation conducted by the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the Responsible Manager of the Joint Health and Safety Unit (OSGB), Ünal Aslan, and the property owner Güven Demirbaş, who rented the factory building to the cosmetics company, were also detained. After their procedures at the police station, the suspects were referred to the courthouse and arrested. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security announced that the Kocaeli Provincial Director of the Social Security Institution (SGK), the Deputy Provincial Director of SGK Kocaeli, the Director of the Gebze Social Security Center, the Provincial Director of the Labor and Employment Agency Kocaeli, the Director of the İŞKUR Dilovası Service Center, the Branch Manager responsible for İŞKUR CİMER, and one staff member were suspended after the incident. Additionally, the Deputy Mayor of Dilovası, Necati Temiz, Zoning Director Nizamettin Balcı, and police officers Cengiz Taşdemir, Ömer Kocabay, and Tekin İlaslan were also suspended.
4 DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH 'INTENTIONAL KILLING', 8 DEFENDANTS CHARGED WITH 'CONSCIOUS NEGLIGENCE' In the 91-page indictment prepared by the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, life imprisonment is requested for İsmail Oransal, Altay Ali Oransal, Aleyna Oransal, and Gökberk Güngör for the crime of 'intentional killing', and 3 times 6 months to 4 years of imprisonment for the crime of 'qualified damage to property'. For 8 defendants, a sentence of up to 22 years and 6 months for 'causing death and injury through conscious negligence' is requested, and for 4 defendants, a sentence of up to 5 years for 'aiding a criminal' is requested. The indictment also requested that Ümit Çelik, Ünal Arslan, Muhammet Dayıoğlu, Seyfullah Çelik, Güven Demirbaş, Caner Özgür Yıldırım, Özcan Yıldırım, and Özkan Yıldırım be prosecuted for 'causing death and injury through conscious negligence', and that Ali Osman Akat, Onay Yürüklü, Ömer Aktan, and Abdurrahman Bayat be prosecuted for 'aiding a criminal'.
INDICTMENT RETURNED The indictment prepared by the Gebze Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was examined by the Gebze 7th High Criminal Court. The court decided to return the indictment to the prosecutor's office on the grounds that it was organized without collecting evidence to determine whether the crime was committed. In the return decision, attention was drawn to the expert committee report in the case file. The report stated that it could not be definitively determined whether the relationship between the cosmetics company Ravive Kozmetik, where the incident occurred, and the cosmetics company Lykke Kozmetik, which was evaluated to have joint production, was subcontracted production or joint production. The court noted that this uncertainty directly affected the culpability of the suspects Gökberk Güngör and Aleyna Oransal. Therefore, it was emphasized that the commercial books, invoices, raw material purchase documents, and the authorities of the companies from which raw materials were purchased and products were sold should be examined and heard as witnesses. It was stated that the indictment organized without these investigations carried evidence deficiencies affecting the establishment of the crime.
EXAMINATION OF DIGITAL MATERIALS NOT COMPLETED The court decision indicated that the imaging and examination processes of digital materials such as mobile phones and laptops seized from the suspects had not been completed. It was expressed that the data obtained from digital examinations could create new evidence for or against the suspects, and that organizing the indictment without addressing this deficiency was contrary to the law. The decision noted that the indictment was organized without waiting for the analysis results of the HTS (call, message, and base station) records belonging to the suspects. The court emphasized that the HTS records could directly affect the establishment of the crime of 'aiding a criminal'.
ARREST WARRANT FOR 2 PEOPLE The indictment was reorganized and sent to the Gebze 7th High Criminal Court after the deficiencies were completed. In the new indictment sent to the Gebze 7th High Criminal Court, it was stated that an arrest warrant was issued for Ümit Ç. for the crime of 'causing death and injury through conscious negligence', and for Abdurrahman B. for the crime of 'aiding a criminal'. The indictment includes 4 victims, 13 complainants, and 16 suspects, and requests the implementation of security measures against Ravive Kozmetik and Lykke Kozmetik. In the new indictment, the charges and requested penalties from the first prepared indictment remained unchanged.
THEY DIED IN A HORRIFIC WAY In the autopsy reports prepared by the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute on January 9, 2026, it was stated that "The victims Esma Gikan, Şengül Yılmaz, Nisanur Taşdemir, Tuğba Taşdemir, and Hanım Gülek died due to suffocation from smoke and carbon monoxide poisoning due to staying in the fire environment, while the victim Cansu Esetoğlu died due to burns at the degree of carbonization caused by exposure to high heat resulting from an explosion and suffocation from smoke."
ELECTRICIAN RELAXED In the reorganized indictment, the statement of Ali Ç., who did the electrical work of the facility in 2022, was also included. Ali Ç. stated that he previously did the electrical installation of a workplace owned by Kurtuluş Oransal in Dilovası, and that Oransal wanted to work with him because he was satisfied. He mentioned that he went to a workplace named Ravive Cosmetics on approximately September 18, 2022, and that it was a two-story building with a lower and upper floor. He noted that there was already an existing electrical installation in both the lower and upper floors of the workplace named Ravive Cosmetics, and that Oransal asked him to pull the electrical cables for the machines located on the upper floor and to make a control panel. He explained that at that time, there were no machines in the workplace, and the machines arrived on the day he finished the job, and that he did not make the cable connections, stating that he was not there until the machine connections were fully completed.
"I DID WHAT I WAS TOLD" In the continuation of his statement, Ali Ç. mentioned that he knew the machine connections were done by the brand service of the machines, that he left after finishing his job, and that he only pulled an additional electrical line to where the machines would come. He stated that, as he said, the building and the workplace already had an existing electrical installation, that there was no invoice proving he did the electrical work, and that he did exactly what Oransal instructed him to do. He confirmed that there was no leakage in the additional line he pulled for this workplace and that the line was functioning properly, but he did not know if any changes were made to the electrical line he pulled afterward, as he did not go back there after finishing the job. He did not know the company or individuals who did the electrical installation before him at the workplace, and he mentioned that the workplace had a building electrical line and office electrical installations, and that there was also a residual current device for the building and office electrical line. He stated that if there had been a leakage, the electrical system would have stopped due to the residual current device, but such a situation did not occur while he was pulling the line.
MEETINGS REVEALED The examination results of the mobile phone, laptop computer, and similar digital materials submitted by the suspects were also included in this indictment. In the examination, it was stated that there were many conversations among the suspects on the day of the incident, and it was reported that one person asked suspect Gökberk Güngör, "You don't need to rush, let's talk on Monday then. Tomorrow when we hold the elections. By the way, is your factory in Istanbul?" to which the suspect replied, "Our office is in Ataşehir, Istanbul, and our factory is in Dilovası." It was also noted in the examination that the conversations between Kurtuluş Oransal and suspect Gökberk Güngör were related to product orders, and that there were statements regarding Gökberk Güngör's correspondence with Aleyna Oransal about the establishment of Lykke Cosmetics Ltd., the company's title, and the company symbol from 2021.
On the day of the incident, in a conversation between Abdurrahman Bayat and Gökberk Güngör, Bayat mentioned that a file containing written instructions from the other suspect İsmail Oransal was sent to Gökberk, summarizing that İsmail Oransal sent his laptops and instructed him to transfer the incoming money to Aleyna Oransal's account, to collect the checks, and if he did not hear from him for 15-20 days, to deliver the check to a person named Çetin. It was also noted in the examination that there were instructions stating that both his and his brother Altay Ali Oransal's mobile phones were entrusted to him.