The first major trial has begun in Turkey over the collapse of hundreds of buildings since the February earthquake

Almost eleven months after the big one earthquake of February 2023, which claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people, began today in Turkey the first major trial for her attribution of responsibilities for buildings that collapsed due to poor workmanship.

This trial concerns the Isias Hotel in Antiyaman. According to Turkish media, 11 defendants are in court, including the owner of the hotel. Accused of “conscious negligence” during the construction of the 10-story building that collapsed due to the strong earthquake, killing 72 people, 24 of whom were Turkish Cypriot teenagers participating in a volleyball tournament.

According to the indictment, at least one of the building's floors had been illegally added. The experts' report also mentions the poor quality of the building materials.

The defendants, if found guilty, they can be sentenced to prison terms of more than 20 years.

The city of Antiyaman is about 100 kilometers from the epicenter of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, which occurred on the morning of February 6, 2023. The earthquake killed 50,000 people in Turkey and another 6,000 in Syria. In the weeks that followed, at least 260 people involved in various stages of the construction of the collapsed buildings were arrested – some even tried to flee the country. The builder of a 12-storey building in Antakia, whose hundreds of tenants were buried in the rubble, was arrested at Istanbul airport on February 10, while attempting to flee to Montenegro.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed the high death toll on corrupt contractors and builders who paid off local inspectors to use cheap building materials and illegally add floors to buildings. The opposition argues that major construction companies in Turkey have forged close ties with Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, which has ruled the country for 21 years.