In the case of the Grand Kartal Hotel fire in Bolu Kartalkaya, where 78 people died, 11 people, including the hotel owner, hotel managers, municipality and Provincial Special Administration officials, were sentenced to 34 terms of life imprisonment and 24 years imprisonment.
The Bolu 1st High Criminal Court made its ruling in the case of 32 defendants, 20 of whom are detained, who were tried in connection with the January 21, 2025, fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya, which resulted in 133 injuries and 78 fatalities.
For “probable premeditated murder” of 34 children, the court sentenced hotel owner Halit Ergül, company board members Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Elif Aras, and Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, hotel manager Zeki Yılmaz, hotel general manager Ahmet Demir, hotel accounting manager Kadir Özdemir, Bolu Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Acting Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar.
Eleven defendants were also sentenced to 24 years and 11 months in prison each for 44 counts of “probable murder” for the 44 adults who died in the fire.
The panel sentenced Accounting Manager Cemal Özer and accounting staff Mehmet Salun to 22 years and 3 months each for “causing the death and injury of more than one person through conscious negligence”; LPG maintenance personnel Doğan Aydın and Muharrem Şen, and occupational safety specialist Kübra Demir to 21 years, 4 months and 15 days each. Cook Reşat Bölük, electricians Tahsin Pekcan and Hüseyin Özer, and FQC Inspection Company owner Ali Ağaoğlu, company employee Aleyna Beşinci, Mudurnu A.Ş. executives İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz; Bolu Special Provincial Administration Secretary General Sırrı Köstereli, Bolu Special Provincial Administration Deputy Secretary General Bünyamin Bal, former Provincial Special Administration Licensing and Inspection Manager Mehmet Özel, Bolu Special Provincial Administration Licensing Manager Yeliz Erdoğan received 21 years, receptionist Yiğithan Burak Çetin received 12 years, and electrical maintenance worker Bayram Ütkü received 18 years in prison.
Three defendants acquitted, two arrested
The imprisoned suspects, including İbrahim Polat and İsmail Karagöz, were remanded in detention. Doğan Aydın, who was tried without custody, was condemned to 21 years, 4 months, and 15 days in jail and placed on house arrest. The accused, chef Faysal Yaver, occupational safety specialist Ece Kayacan and chef Enver Öztürk, were acquitted.
There were no penalty reductions imposed.
peaking after the verdict, Bolu Bar Association President Sinan Barut said, “None of the sentences were subject to Article 62 (good behavior reduction) for any defendant, and all sentences were given at the maximum limit. We hope this verdict will serve as an example for all of Türkiye. We believe that justice has been served to some extent. We also believe that the victims’ relatives have been given some reassurance.”
Abdurrahman Gençbay, President of the 9th Chamber of the Council of State, who lost his son Yiğit Gençbay in the Grand Kartal Hotel fire, commented on the decision in the case, saying, “In my opinion, the decision we have reached today is a tremendous one that could set a precedent in global and Turkish legal history. Today, the panel has proven to all of Türkiye, to the entire world, that there are judges in Bolu. Now, the mothers have seen that justice has been served in this case, and thankfully, this decision has found its place in society.”
In the indictment prepared by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office as part of the investigation into the incident, a total prison sentence of up to 1,998 years was sought for the hotel owners, company board members and managers Halit Ergül, Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, Elif Aras, Emir Aras, Zeki Yılmaz, Ahmet Demir, Kadir Özdemir, Cemal Özer, Mehmet Salun, Bolu Deputy Mayor Sedat Gülener, Acting Fire Chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar on 78 counts each of “probable premeditated murder” and “probable premeditated wounding.”
