Turkish authorities are investigating hundreds of people in connection with the buildings that collapsed as a result of the devastating earthquake that struck the country earlier this month.
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Authorities are investigating more than 600 people
A Turkish government official announced today, Saturday, that the authorities are investigating more than 600 people in connection with the buildings that collapsed as a result of the devastating earthquake that struck the country earlier this month. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said that 184 of the 612 suspects had been imprisoned pending trial.
He added, in televised statements from the Coordination Center in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, that among the detainees are construction contractors, building owners or managers.
He also stressed: “The disclosure of evidence continues as a basis for the criminal investigation” into the repercussions of the earthquake.
The devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6, killing about 48,000 people, raised doubts in Turkey about the structural safety of many of the 173,000 buildings that collapsed or were badly damaged.
Experts said many of the collapsed buildings were built with poor materials and methods, and often did not comply with government standards. Opposition parties also accused the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of failing to implement building regulations.
Earlier, more than 250 contractors were arrested for investigation into the causes of the rapid collapse of buildings as a result of the earthquake.
The Turkish Minister of Interior, Suleiman Soylu, confirmed that the Turkish authorities have opened 564 investigations targeting building developers and contractors whose buildings collapsed as a result of the earthquake that struck Turkey.
Turkey’s Justice Ministry has ordered prosecutors to file criminal charges against all contractors and officials responsible for the collapse of buildings that failed to meet existing laws introduced after a similarly disastrous earthquake in 1999.
Erdogan had said that his country aims to construct new and safe buildings to replace every building destroyed by the earthquake, within one year.