in-cyprus 12 February 2023 - by gavriella
Twelve people from the construction industry have been arrested in Turkey after thousands of buildings collapsed in the south of the country following Monday’s earthquake, local media reported on Saturday.
Among those arrested is a businessman from Gaziantep province and eleven people from Sanliurfa province, according to the Turkish DHA news agency.
More arrests are expected
The total collapse of the buildings, which betrays their poor construction and left their occupants with virtually no chance, is causing outrage in the country where some 22,000 people have died and more than 80,000 have been injured.
More arrests are expected after the prosecutor of Diyarbakir, one of the ten provinces affected by the disaster, said today that he had issued 29 arrest warrants, the official Anadolu Agency reported.
According to this source, one of those arrested is a businessman who built buildings in Gaziantep and was arrested in Istanbul.
Prosecutorial investigations
Several investigations have been launched by prosecutors in affected provinces such as Kahramanmaras, where the city of Pazarqik was at the epicentre of the earthquake.
Turkey’s Ministry of Justice has instructed prosecutors in the ten provinces to open “offices to investigate earthquake-related crimes”.
On Friday, police arrested a businessman from Hatay province at Istanbul airport whose luxury house collapsed completely, crushing its occupants.
