Filenews 19 February 2023
The father and sons Bozkurt, Ahmed, Mehmet and Efeh, owners and managers of the Isias hotel in Adhyaman, which collapsed, killing dozens of people, including the 35 members of the Turkish volleyball mission from Famagusta, were detained.
As reported by the media, the owners and managers of the hotel were arrested as part of the investigation and the decision was taken by the court in Adhyaman to transfer them to Siverek prison.
It was decided to impose a ban on leaving the country and judicial review against the other suspects, Ulviye and Bozcourt and Ciule Ozbek.
Meanwhile, Turkish Milliet reports that the hotel, built as a family home, remained uninhabited for 10 years and was sold to the Bozcourt company in 2001. Based on the certificate of operation from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey it was increased from 37 to 66 rooms in 2005, and the capacity of the hotel was increased to 132 beds. A photo allegedly taken in the lobby before the hotel collapsed was shared on social media showing that some pillars in the lobby were cut.
Abdulkadir Kiemizi, who served as mayor of Adıyaman from 1994 to 2004, said he did not remember approving a permit to convert it from a residential complex to a hotel in 2001. "It will become clear after the technical examination why the hotel collapsed. I can't remember the licensing 22 years ago," he said.
Tourism Law expert Ilker Unsever, who gave information on the licensing and control mechanism of hotels, said the municipality gave permission to use a building as a workplace. Noting that the Ministry checks the compliance of the operation of the building with the permit and the issuance of the tourist operation certificate, he said that "if there is a contradiction as to the compliance of the project with the permit, the permit can be revoked".
Hakan Benlioglu, President of the Board of Directors of the Tourist Guides Association, who also lost many of its members during the collapse of the hotel, said they will file a lawsuit for intentional murder against the authorities who do not fulfil the inspection duties at every stage of construction and use of the building, especially against the contractor and those responsible for building the collapsed hotel, and why they started search and rescue work late and wrong.
