, the BirGün daily reported.){kind=link}
The families of 47 people who died in the collapse of an apartment building during earthquakes that struck southeastern Turkey on February 6, 2023, have filed an appeal with the Council of State challenging the Interior Ministry’s refusal to authorize criminal investigations into two former mayors from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the BirGün daily reported.
The apartment block was in southern Hatay province’s central Antakya district and collapsed within seconds during the earthquakes, killing 47 residents.
The Interior Ministry granted investigation permission for seven municipal officials in connection with the collapse but excluded former Antakya mayors İsmail Kimyeci and İzzettin Yılmaz and construction technician Yüksel Şenol from its scope.
Under Turkish law, criminal investigations into public officials require prior authorization from the relevant ministry, a mechanism governed by Law No. 4483 that effectively functions as an administrative filter before prosecutors can proceed. Decisions to grant or refuse such permission can be challenged before the Council of State, Turkey’s highest administrative court.
Lawyer Duygu İnegöllü, who is representing the plaintiffs, petitioned the First Chamber of the Council of State to annul the ministry’s partial refusal, arguing that it violates the right to life and the state’s obligation to conduct an effective investigation as guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Turkish Constitution.
The lawyers contested the ministry’s rationale that certain officials did not sign the construction permits, arguing that legal responsibility is determined by the scope of duties and statutory obligations rather than by documentary signatures. The petition argues that delegating authority does not extinguish criminal liability under administrative law and that the absence of a signature alone cannot constitute sufficient grounds for refusing permission for an investigation.
The lawyers said the criminal trial against the apartment’s contractor and construction inspection firm employees, under way at the Hatay 5th High Criminal Court, has been adjourned four times because it has not been possible to determine whether there is a connection or conflict of interest between the public officials and the defendants. The petition argues that the ministry’s decision, issued nearly three years after the earthquakes, has obstructed both the investigation and the criminal proceedings.
The lawyers accused the ministry of acting in bad faith and called on the Council of State to annul the refusal of permission to investigate the former mayors and other public officials. The petition argues the ruling could set a precedent for the scope of public accountability in earthquake-related criminal cases.