Defendants' defense statements in Kartalkaya hotel fire case revealed

The hearing, held in a hall specially created by the Bolu 1st High Criminal Court in the Bolu Social Sciences High School sports hall, was attended by the defendants who were arrested and not arrested, the relatives of those injured and killed in the fire, and the lawyers of the parties.

Making his defense at the hearing, the Deputy Secretary General of Bolu Provincial Special Administration, arrested defendant Bünyamin Bal, wished God's mercy upon those who lost their lives in the fire.

Bal, who stated that he has been on duty since October 2013, said, "I have been under arrest for over 5 months regarding the fire. During my arrest, I have read the indictment, expert report and regulations. According to my research, the provincial special administrations do not have an organization related to fire."

Photos reflected on social media; people who lost their loved ones near the courthouse are following the hearing...

Bal, who provided information about his job description and the structure of the Provincial Special Administration, said, "I am not the personnel inspecting the hotel. There is no fault, defect or request presented to me regarding the hotel fire, and no instructions from higher authorities. Therefore, I have no fault. I was not involved in any license procedures or inspections of the hotel. No documents were sent to me by the License and Inspection Directorate. I am not responsible for conducting a fire inspection. I request my release and acquittal."

The defendant's lawyer also requested his release, claiming that there was no legislation that could incriminate his client.

Bolu Provincial Special Administration Secretary General, arrested defendant Sırrı Köstereli also offered his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

Photos reflected on social media; people who lost their loved ones near the courthouse are remembering the names of those who lost their lives in the fire disaster with banners...

Köstereli, who provided information about the job description and legislation, noted that the hotel has a tourism operation certificate.

Köstereli said that facilities with tourism business certificates are inspected by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and said, "Our friends went to inspect in 2011, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024. When we asked, 'Was an inspection carried out?' they said they did not have the authority to inspect. When we asked, 'Why did you inspect?' they said they went to inspect in the nearby area and stopped by there as well."

Köstereli, who stated that a letter was sent to the Provincial Special Administration on May 27, 2021 from the General Directorate of Investment and Enterprises of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as "required", said, "The document says 'I have renewed the tourism business certificate in accordance with the Tourism Encouragement Law No. 2634. If there is a change in terms of business opening and operating license, please notify us.' I was accused of leaving the required document dysfunctional, this is not possible to accept. I have been detained for 5 months despite not being responsible. I want my acquittal and my detention to end."

The arrested defendant Yeliz Erdoğan, Provincial Special Administration License and Inspection Director, also noted that she has been serving in her position since 2018.

Erdoğan said, "The hotel's license was given in 2007, it was checked, I was not there at that time. If there has been no change in the structure, if the owner of the document has not changed, there is no need to get a business and work license, it can operate with a tourism business license. The tourism business license is the final document."

Erdoğan stated that they carry out finalization inspections, non-license and complaint inspections within 1 month after issuing a business opening and operating license, and continued as follows:

"A company said they wanted to open a restaurant in a hotel, we asked for the documents. I said that if the restaurant was inside the hotel, a fire department report had to be obtained for the entire hotel. The documents arrived, but the fire department report was not for the entire hotel, it was only for the restaurant, and I did not issue the license. I absolutely do not accept responsibility."

Erdoğan's lawyer also demanded his client's release.

The hearing, in which 9 defendants, both detained and not detained, made their defenses, will continue with the defenses of the defendants in the morning.

AA