On February 6, 2023, Türkiye’s southern provinces were hit with devastating earthquakes that left more than 53,000 people dead and over 107,000 injured. The earthquakes exposed the decades’ long failure of municipalities, and other public authorities to ensure builders’ compliance with safe building standards. Yet two years on, there is little sign of accountability for the many preventable deaths, life-changing injuries, and ruined lives.
Döne Kaya, 28, lost her mother, sister, brother-in-law, and 9-month-old nephew when their apartment block in the province of Hatay collapsed in the earthquake. Despite her tireless efforts for justice as a leading voice in the campaign group Platform for Families in Pursuit of Justice (Adalet Peşinde Aileleri Platformu), it has taken two years for the builders of the apartment block where Döne’s family members and at least 65 others died, to face trial.
On January 31, 2025, three of the six defendants attended the first hearing but the three others failed to show up. There is no information yet on whether any public official from the Hatay municipality or provincial environment and urbanization directorate will face charges.
Prosecutors in Türkiye are obliged by law to seek authorities’ permission to open investigations into public officials who may bear criminal responsibility. Past experience shows they are rarely held accountable. The Ministry of Interior has avoided revealing the number of public officials for whom permission to investigate and prosecute has been granted, citing confidentiality concerns. A court recently rejected this defense and a further request for information has been filed with the ministry by the local organization Citizens’ Assembly. Human Rights Watch and the Platform for Families in Pursuit of Justice have also written to the ministry asking for the numbers.
The information we do have about the number of trials of private actors such as contractors and building controllers is also far from encouraging. In a visit to the earthquake region to mark the two-year anniversary, the justice ministerrevealed that of the 1,491 trials underway, just 118 defendants had so far received prison sentences of varying terms in lower courts. All are subject to appeal.
In a country susceptible to earthquakes, preventing future harm and deaths requires that the government take steps to hold accountable all those implicated in the deadly chain of failure to ensure safe construction and protect lives.
