Legislation still under rubble on 10th quake anniversary

The date Aug. 17, 1999 opened one of the greatest wounds in Turkish history when an earthquake centered in Gölcük struck the Marmara region. With a magnitude of 7.4, the quake's waves stretched out to many surrounding cities, including İstanbul, killing nearly 20,000 people and reducing thousands of buildings to mere rubble. Ten years after the tragedy, many people who lost loved ones and property to the disaster and who sought legal redress -- particularly from contractors whose failure to comply with building and earthquake safety standards caused the high loss of life -- are still waiting for justice to be done.

Many contractors guilty of fatal construction defects have benefited from the prolonged legal process, escaping fines and penalties. Of these contractors, only contractor Veli Göçer and his partner, İsmet Kösebalaban, are in jail. Buildings they constructed in Yalova's Çınarcık district collapsed immediately in the earthquake, leading to the deaths of 167 people. They are each serving sentences of 18 years and nine months.

With a magnitude of 7.4, the Aug. 17 earthquake's waves stretched out to many surrounding cities, reducing thousands of buildings to mere rubble. Veli Göçer became symbol of guilty contractors The people who lived in the homes built by contractor Veli Göçer lost everything in the earthquake. While the plaintiffs in the case against him won reparation money in the case, a second blow from the judiciary has struck -- the court ruled that they had to pay the attorneys' fees and case expenses for the court. A total of 400 earthquake victims were plaintiffs in the case against Göçer, and while the court awarded them reparation money, it has still not been paid -- on top of that, they are all now in debt because of the legal fees. According to a report in the Sabah daily published this week, couple Mustafa and Şehriban Ergüden are among the plaintiffs. Before the earthquake, they lived in a housing unit in Çınarcık built by Göçer. In the disaster they lost their parents, Şadiye and Mehmet Yüce, who lived in the apartment next door. Their home was destroyed in the quake that killed the Yüces. The court ruled that Göçer be held responsible, deciding that they should be paid TL 3,650 of the TL 11,000 they had sued for. But this money has still not been paid, and according to a system implemented by the court, the family is responsible for paying TL 1,208 in legal fees.

Salim Çakır, who lived in one of the residences constructed by Göçer, lost his 11-year-old son in the earthquake. He was one of the plaintiffs in the case against Göçer and explains what it took to get a conviction: “We expended a lot of effort to get Göçer sentenced so that it could serve as a precedent for such cases. He'll be out soon and will be reunited with his family and his children, but my son will never return.” Çakır said the plaintiffs came up against many legal obstacles in their quest for justice. “Many families haven't been as lucky as we have been. Because Veli Göçer's name became a sort of symbol for all earthquake [construction] cases, at least we were able to get some sort of result, insufficient as it may be.”

Those opening lawsuits and court cases regarding the earthquakes did so for a variety of reasons: against authorities for criminal neglect and failure to perform inspections, and against contractors for these reasons and also the usage of inappropriate and faulty materials. In addition, many district mayors and contractors were also taken to court, but no legal action was taken against any municipalities. Many of those considered to be responsible in the first degree for the collapsed buildings were never able to be located by the authorities. Insufficient investigation led to the exculpation of defendant after defendant as expert witnesses brought to the stand produced entirely contradictory reports ruled as inadmissible by courts.

Former Kocaeli Bar President Ersayın Işık said the Supreme Court of Appeals had decided that defendants in the earthquake cases would be tried under Article 383 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which allows up to five years in prison for “causing the death of one or more persons through recklessness and negligence.” But following the earthquake, many of the investigations into the persons responsible never moved beyond the preparation stage, making it impossible for prosecutors to determine on what basis to launch a court case. Due to difficulties in the collection of evidence and documents that could convict those responsible, after only one year, the nearly 3,500 investigations started in the earthquake region had dwindled to only 350. “Most of these ended with no result because of the law known as the Rahşan Pardon. Today, there can't be more than 50 cases that could be opened based on these investigations,” Işık said.

Attorney Remzi Kazmaz, who works with the Civil Initiative Group, which is prosecuting all of the earthquake cases in İstanbul, said they are currently following 650 cases. Kazmaz said they haven't been able to get sentencing in a single case in the past 10 years, complaining that some guilty parties who looked sure to be sentenced were saved by the Rahşan Pardon.

Reparation won’t be paid

Orhan Kılıç, an attorney at the earthquake legal counsel desk opened after the disaster, said they received about 350 applications to open cases after the quake. They opened two cases on the basis of construction, engineering and technical responsibility. “The first case we opened was at the İstanbul Administrative Court regarding the Avcılar Municipality. In 2007, the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled in our favor, authorizing the payment of TL 3,500 in reparation, but it still hasn't been paid. As for the second case, it was opened for a building that was entirely destroyed in the quake. Those responsible managed to escape any jail term because of the long time period that elapsed as the trial moved on, but the case for reparation funds is still ongoing.”

After the earthquake, 993 cases were opened at Kocaeli's 1st and 2nd high criminal courts. Most of them were thrown out because of the time limit for jail sentences. Only 12 people were imprisoned with sentences of about 10 months.