Turkey jails builder of quake-razed apartments for 865 years

FILE PHOTO: Rescue workers look for survivors amid the rubble of a building in the rebel-held town of Jindayris on February 10, 2023, days after a strong earthquake hit Turkey and Syria. – Turkey on Friday, September 27, 2024, handed 865 years in prison to a man behind the construction of a building that collapsed during a powerful 2023 earthquake, killing 96, state media said. Agence France-Presse

ISTANBUL — Turkey on Friday handed 865 years in prison to a man behind the construction of a building that collapsed during a powerful 2023 earthquake, killing 96, state media said.

The 14-story apartment block in the southern Turkish city of Adana was destroyed by a massive 7.8-magnitude quake in February 2023 that killed more than 53,500 people in Turkey and nearly 6,000 in neighboring Syria. Only one of the building’s residents survived.

Built in 1975, the building’s collapse immediately aroused suspicions as Adana, located less than 200 kilometers (about 120 miles) from the earthquake’s epicenter, was largely spared from the violent tremors.

READ: Turkey quake survivors seek justice one year on

The man in the dock, Hasan Alpargun, was convicted on Friday, September 27, of “having caused the death and injury of more than one person with possible intent,” according to the official Anadolu news agency.

Alpargun is reported to have fled to Turkish-backed Northern Cyprus on the day of the quake, before turning himself over to police a week later.

READ: Turkey completes new homes in area hit by devastating earthquake

During the trial, experts pointed to serious deficiencies in the construction of the building’s support columns, as well as the quality of concrete used.

Alpargun defended himself by stating that the construction was approved by the authorities.

More than 260 people involved in the construction of buildings that collapsed during the February 2023 earthquake were arrested in the aftermath, some while trying to flee Turkey.

The trials of several of these entrepreneurs have opened this year.