Protest in front of the Ministry of Justice from the Platform of Families in Pursuit of Justice

The protest of the members of the Families in Pursuit of Justice Platform against the decision given to the defendants in the Ezgi Apartment case, which killed 35 people in the February 6 earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, and the problems experienced in other earthquake cases, continues on the 5th day in front of the Ministry of Justice.

Families of earthquake victims who wanted to meet with Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek spent the night in front of the ministry. A banner reading "Your shame museum" was written on the pole in front of the Ministry building, and the names of the structures and public institutions destroyed in the earthquake were written.

NEW Party Women's Branch Chairman and Osmaniye Deputy Asu Kaya visited the families who continued their protests.

"THE EZGI APARTMENTI DECISION IS NOW THE LAST EVENT THAT BREAKS THE GLASS"

Platform Spokesperson Döne Kaya stated that they have been fighting for justice for 3.5 years and reacted to the sentence given to the defendants in the Ezgi Apartment case.

Kaya said, "It is not acceptable for the verdict of two defendants, whose trial started in 876 years and whose opinion was given in 876 years, to be reduced to eight years."

Reminding that the defendants remained on the run for 703 days after the earthquake, Kaya said, "The place where he was found is a villa. In other words, they sentence this person to only eight years in a place where he was vacationing. Then they release him on probation. This is the final incident."

Emphasizing that the Ezgi Apartment case is just an example, Kaya said, "We have a lot of cases in a massacre in which at least 53 thousand people died. There are cases in a lot of apartment buildings. We are following their legal processes one by one." Explaining that he came to the Ministry to meet with Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek, Kaya said that he did not receive a call back despite his request for a meeting.

Stating that the objections to the Ezgi Apartment decision were rejected and that the process will be moved to appeal, Kaya pointed out that appeal processes in earthquake cases take a long time.

Döne Kaya said, "If he is serving eight years out of an 876-year sentence, I don't even want to think about the appeal process. Just as they bring justice to us, let them bring it from now on. Just as they can let in a mayor or comedian Deniz Göktaş, they can also bring in the defendants related to the February 6 earthquakes."

Referring to the NATO Summit held in Ankara, Kaya said:

"They let in those who even had suspicions that might cause trouble. So, what happened? You will see the photo here. The owner of MADO is on trial as a defendant in the Manolya Site in Kahramanmaraş. At the NATO summit, the man made his guests taste Maraş ice cream. So, we passed the probation, I passed them waving their hands and arms.

So that's not all. That's why I no longer expect a fair decision, no matter how they administer justice and what kind of system they implement for themselves. Now I am waiting for a conscientious decision. Because Article 38 of the Constitution is also clear. It is also clear in the laws to which judges and prosecutors are subject. Finally, the judge and prosecutor say, decide with conscience. "Now that 53 thousand people have died... A conscientious decision must be made."

"IS THE COST OF 35 LIVES ONLY AN EIGHT YEAR PUNISHMENT?"

NEW Party Osmaniye Deputy Asu Kaya stated that she personally witnessed the destruction and despair experienced in the February 6 earthquakes and said that the families of the earthquake victims stand by their struggle for justice.

Kaya said:

"The wreckage of the Ezgi Apartment Building, where we lost 35 lives, is an unhealed wound in all of our consciences. An injustice was added to that wound with the judicial decision. The prosecutor's office demanded a prison sentence of 876 years for the defendants for 'possibly premeditated murder'. The court gave only eight years of imprisonment for the death of 35 people and released the defendants. Today, these defendants are walking among us freely. Now we need to ask: We are in front of the Ministry of Justice. The Minister of Justice responded to this. Ver. Is the price of 35 lives only an eight-year sentence?

We lost over 50 thousand of our people. 50 thousand is just a number. Pronouncing numbers hurts people's hearts. Each of them is someone's loved one, someone's child, someone's relative, someone's soulmate. But today those people are lying in black soil. Today, the responsibility of the Minister of Justice and the Ministry of Justice is to not kill them again at the place where they died, which will at least be a decision that will ease the hearts of their relatives and establish justice in their consciences. When a mother buries her child, when a child is left without a mother, when a sibling is left without a sister or brother, is justice only eight years in the reckoning? We ask this to the Ministry of Justice. This decision is impossible for us to accept. "This decision is impossible for conscience to accept."

NEW Party member Kaya stated that those responsible in hundreds of files related to the February 6 earthquakes were not held accountable, and said that those responsible were not punished sufficiently in the Bilge Sitesi case in Osmaniye, where 105 people lost their lives.

"WHAT KIND OF COORDINATION IS THIS?"

Platform Spokesperson Döne Kaya stated that earthquake scenarios were prepared by AFAD with the Provincial Disaster Risk Report (İRAP) in 2019-2021 and said, "It may be the earthquake of the century, but precautions could be taken for a known earthquake. "If we searched for a crane and all other equipment during that earthquake, we were found to have been searched for not being prepared for this earthquake," he said.

Arguing that only low-level public officials are tried in earthquake cases, Kaya requested that mayors and high-level public officials be included in the trials. Kaya said, "Today, we cannot touch the mayors who massacred people in the February 6 earthquake, we cannot include them in the judiciary."

Kaya reminded that there were reports and correspondence regarding Hatay Training and Research Hospital and Iskenderun State Hospital, which were known to be not earthquake resistant before the earthquake, and reacted to the continuation of the activities of the hospitals.

Pointing out the problems experienced in finding her relatives after the earthquake, Kaya said that after a young woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance, her family could not hear from her, and that the young woman's death was determined by DNA matching 1.5 years later.

Döne Kaya, in tears, said, "In the first days, this government made us pray for our loved ones to be taken out alive. Then he thanked him for being able to come out with his physical integrity. Then he made him give thanks so that he could have a grave. Then it led us to find their graves through DNA matching, one and a half to two years after the earthquake. What kind of lack of coordination is this? Come on, you didn't do it before the earthquake, you didn't do it during the earthquake; "What kind of lack of coordination is this after the earthquake?" he asked.

Kaya stated that sufficient autopsies were not performed in the earthquake area and that it could not be determined whether the causes of death of the relatives were due to the earthquake or late intervention.

"THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE WILL ALSO HEAR DÖNE'S VOICE"