In the case related to the deaths of six people in a campsite destroyed in a flood that occurred in 2023 in the İğneada town of Kırklareli and determined to be operating without a license, the business owner was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The case related to the death of six people vacationing in “Sisli Vadi” wooden houses during the flood disaster in the town of İğneada in the Demirköy district of Kırklareli is being re-tried after the appeal court overturned the decision.
The third hearing in the retrial was held today. The families and lawyers of those who died in the flood, detained defendant Bülent Bayrak and his lawyers were present at the trial. Unarrested defendants Büşra Gökgöz, Cenan Aydın and Sevcan Ulutürk attended the hearing through the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS). During the hearing, Safiye Yaşa and her lawyers, who lost their daughter Mihriban Bagislar and son-in-law Selman Bagislar in the flood, stated that the court president visited several times and asked the judge to recuse himself. The court president said that he came to Kırklareli 2 months ago and did not know anyone, that he made additional visits and that photos were taken during these visits. The request was denied by the court panel on the grounds that it was intended to prolong the hearing. DIGITAL DATA CANNOT BE RECOVERED Report of the National Criminal Bureau, where documents were sent to the court at the request of relatives of the deceased to examine digital documents in previous hearings. In the report, “It was found that the HDDs were physically damaged and non-functional. When examining the records, it was understood that the HDDs were previously sent to TÜBİTAK and the gendarmerie to repair the physical damage and work was done on the HDDs. The delivered HDDs were opened in a dust-free cabinet and the disk surface, reader, motherboard were inspected and their current was measured. There is damage clear. on the reader and disk components of the hard disk.” has been seen. It is believed that the scratches and deep damage are caused by repeated attempts at reading and repairing damage. Despite the most advanced efforts to repair the damage, it was understood that it could not be salvaged due to previous intervention. A high rate of successful data recovery is achieved on hard drives that are initially sent to the National Criminal Bureau without any intervention. “In this case, despite advanced repairs, the data could not be recovered.” MOTHER WAS IN DISCIPLINARY JAIL FOR 2 DAYS Safiye Yaşa and her son Mehmethan Yaşa, who argued with the court committee and spoke up during the hearing, were thrown out by the presiding judge and the recess was adjourned. Safiye Yaşa, who was ill during that time, was sentenced to 2 days of disciplinary imprisonment according to the court's decision.
Facility owner Bülent Bayrak, the only defendant detained in the case, who entered a plea after the hearing was adjourned, argued that he could not have fully presented his defense from the beginning. He said: “No one has been detained in my situation for up to 26 months. Similar cases have been detained for 3-6 months. Because if I had anticipated a natural disaster, I would not have done so. To manage my affairs, I need to be put in an open prison or under house arrest. I request to be acquitted and released.” BAYRAK'S PENALTY WAS INCREASED TO 18 YEARS Although it was determined that he committed the crime of “negligence causing death and injury to many people”, the court sentenced defendant Bülent Bayrak to 12 years in prison, taking into account the severity of the defendant's fault due to negligence and the severity of the damage and danger caused. Then, on the grounds that the defendant committed an act of “conscious negligence”, the sentence was increased by half and sentenced to 18 years in prison. It was decided that there was no room for further increases or reductions for the defendant and his detention would continue. Among the defendants not yet in custody, Cenan Aydın and Büşra Gökgöz were each sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison, while Sevcan Ulutürk was acquitted. WHAT HAPPENED?
The incident occurred on September 5, 2023 in the town of İğneada. During a heavy rain, flooding occurred in the area where tourist chalets operate in the “Sisli Valley” in the Flood Plain Forest. Doctor Selman Bagislar, his wife Mihriban Bagislar, Suna Duman, retired teacher Raile Şimşek, her husband Ahmet Baki Şimşek and facility manager Ümit Solmaz, who were vacationing in wooden houses built on the river, died when they were swept away by floodwaters. During the investigation of the case, it was discovered that 18 flooded wooden houses called “Sisli Valley” were built without a license.
IT HAS BEEN DECIDED TO DEMOLISH It was also determined that the business premises had been sealed by the Special Administration which had taken the decision to demolish it. However, despite the demolition decision, it was determined that the bungalows advertised on social media under the name “Sisli Vadi”, were recorded as “mixed farms” as the field of activity on the tax license plate. During the investigation conducted by the Kırklareli Chief Prosecutor's Office, a detention order was issued against the owner of the facility, Bülent Bayrak, on charges of “causing the death of many people through negligence”. Bayrak, who was arrested in Keşan, and company directors Sevcan Ulutürk and Cenan Aydın were arrested. Ulutürk and Aydın were later released over the objections of their lawyers. The indictment prepared by the Kırklareli Chief Prosecutor's Office regarding the case was accepted at the 2nd High Criminal Court of Kırklareli. In the indictment, a prison sentence of 3 years to 22 years and 6 months was requested for detained Bayrak and company directors Büşra Gökgöz, Cenan Aydın and Sevcan Ulutürk for “causing death and injury to many people through willful negligence”. EXPERT REPORT HAS BEEN PREPARED After the Kırklareli 2nd High Criminal Court, which tried the defendants, decided to conduct an investigation with a specialized committee at the scene, the committee established in the region on June 28 last year conducted an investigation. Construction Engineer – Architect Associate Professor. Professor of Istanbul Technical University in the expert group. Dr. İsmail Dabanlı, Meteorological Engineer Associate Professor. Dr. Elçin Tan, Civil Engineer Dr. Lecturer H. Emre Alçiçek and Dr. Geological Engineer The report prepared by Orhan Yavuz was presented to the court. In the 21-page report, including sketches and crime scene photos, detained defendants Bülent Bayrak, Cenan Aydın and Büşra Gökgöz, who were tried without arrest, and the Special Provincial Administration were found to be 'mainly at fault'. It was determined that Sevcan Ulutürk was not at fault. 3 defendants were sentenced to prison In his opinion, Prosecutor Uğur Öztürk requested that 4 defendants, including 1 person in detention, tried for the crime of 'Causing death and injury to many people due to intentional negligence', must be punished 6 separate times for the crime of 'Causing death with intent'. In the decision made by the court at the 8th trial, prisoner Bülent Bayrak, the owner of the facility, whom the prosecutor wanted to be punished for “possible premeditation”, was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison for “causing death and injury to many people through intentional negligence”, and defendants Cenan Aydın and Büşra Gökgöz, who were tried without arrest, were convicted. each suffered 7 years and 6 months in prison and Sevcan Ulutürk was acquitted. While it was decided to continue Bayrak's detention, it was decided to continue the conditions of judicial control for Cenan Aydın and Büşra Gökgöz. THE COURT OF APPEALS REVERSE DECISION After the reasonable decision announced by the Kırklareli 2nd Tier Criminal Court, relatives of those who died in the flood brought the decision to the court of appeal. The Court of Appeal overturned the local court's decision.
