A court in Ankara has allowed an investigation into six civil servants in connection with a deadly fire at a hotel in northwestern Turkey earlier this year, Deutsche Welle Turkish edition reported.
The Ankara Regional Administrative Court ruled that an investigation could proceed into six employees of the Bolu Provincial Special Administration, whose alleged negligence in inspecting fire safety measures at the hotel may have contributed to the tragedy.
The fire, which erupted in the early morning hours of January 21 at the Grand Kartal Hotel, a 12-story ski resort in Kartalkaya popular with vacationers during Turkey’s midterm school holiday, claimed the lives of 78 people and injured 51 others. Among the victims were 36 minors.
The tragedy sent shockwaves across the country, with videos circulating on social media of people desperately screaming for help or jumping from windows.
The court’s decision came after the families of the victims and the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office challenged a ruling by the Bolu Governor’s Office, which last month blocked an investigation into the six civil servants. Two of the officials are currently in jail. The governor’s office had argued that the officials bore no legal responsibility for inspecting the hotel.
In overturning that decision, the court said in a unanimous ruling that “the issue [of whether the public servants have any responsibility] can only be clarified with an investigation conducted by the prosecutor’s office.”
The Grand Kartal Hotel is located outside municipal borders and falls under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Special Administration. A report from the Interior Ministry found that the authority to inspect the hotel rested with the Bolu Provincial Special Administration. Ministry inspectors determined that staff from the administration had conducted five inspections at the hotel but that fire safety was not among the issues examined.
Two employees, identified as Sırrı K. and Bünyamin B., were arrested on February 5 and remain in custody. In their defense in court, the men argued that the authority to inspect the hotel rested with the Ministry of Tourism. Sırrı K. said inspections of facilities with tourism operation certificates are carried out by the Tourism Ministry, as required by law.
Special provincial administrations in Turkey function as part of local governance in all 81 provinces. Their officials are appointed by the government rather than elected. These administrations serve as an intermediate-level local government unit at the provincial level.
Under Turkish law, the investigation and prosecution of public officials for crimes committed in the course of their duties require permission from state government authorities. Prosecutors cannot proceed with an investigation without such authorization, regardless of the strength of the evidence. They must first submit evidence recommending a criminal investigation to the relevant administrative authority, which will then conduct a pre-investigation to determine whether to grant permission for prosecution.
The high death toll at the hotel was attributed to the lack of fire warning systems and sparked a blame game between the tourism ministry and the Bolu Municipality, run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), since Kartalkaya is located in Bolu province.
Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has faced calls for his resignation from opposition politicians and others who accuse him of failing to ensure that the hotel met fire safety regulations. Ersoy has so far ignored those demands.