Turkey expands building probes, over 600 people under investigation

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s justice minister on Saturday said that the country was expanding the probes launched to investigate over 600 individuals involved in the construction of the buildings that collapsed in the devastating earthquake. 

Speaking to journalists in quake-struck Diyarbakir (Amed), Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag announced that 184 suspects, including 79 construction contractors, have been arrested so far. He added that more than 600 people are being investigated in Turkey over buildings that collapsed in the deadly February 6 earthquake.

“I hereby state here that judicial proceedings have been taken against 612 suspects so far, 184 of them have been issued arrest warrants, 214 of them have been given judicial control and 71 of them are to be detained,” Bozdag said.  

The wave of arrests comes in response to mass outrage in Turkey following the devastating earthquake that killed over 44,000 people in Turkey, calling on those involved in the construction of the buildings that collapsed to be punished. 

On Saturday, Okkes Kavak, the mayor of Nurdagi district in Gaziantep (Dilok) province was arrested in relation to the collapsed buildings. Kavak is from the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP).

Kavak’s arrest was due to his previous position as a contractor. He was arrested after buildings constructed by his firm in Gaziantep collapsed in the quake.

On Saturday evening, during the Turkish Super league match of Fenerbahce against Konyaspor in Istanbul, footage on social media showed a sold-out Kadikoy stadium chanted “Resign!” to the Turkish government. 

The match was the first to be played since the earthquake.

Dubbed the “disaster of the century”, the tremor in the city of Kahramanmaras killed over 50,000 across the borders of both Syria and Turkey.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) announced on Friday  that the death toll of the twin tremor has risen to 44,218 people. More than 110,000 people are injured.

More than 10,000 buildings are said to have collapsed following the earthquake that rattled 11 provinces in southern Turkey.

By Azhi Rasul