The session, recorded via the Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBİS), began with the statements of the defendants and their lawyers in response to the prosecutor’s final opinion.
The court granted the defendants additional defence rights on charges of “murder by omission” and “aggravated injury resulting from negligence” based on the implication of “intentional killing of a child, a person unable to defend themselves physically or mentally, or a woman.”
Detained defendant and board member of the company, Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, said in her defence, “I’m very sorry, I repeat my previous statements. We got out that night by chance. I have nothing else to add.”
“THE DEFICIENCIES WERE NOT COMMUNICATED TO ME”
Hotel owner and detained defendant Halit Ergül also repeated his previous statements, saying, “As the tenant of this hotel, I made no structural changes that could have increased the fire risk. It is impossible for me to know every employee; I even met some of them here.”
Ergül argued that the hotel’s LPG system had not been inspected, which caused the fire to spread.
He claimed that the institution responsible for safety inspections was the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, stating, “Deficiencies were not communicated to me. Many hotels were closed after the fire. It was impossible for me to detect the deficiencies that inspectors failed to see. I wish they had closed mine too so that this tragedy would not have happened. I wish I had foreseen it and shut the hotel myself.”
“I FELT SAFE BECAUSE NOTHING HAD HAPPENED FOR 25 YEARS”
Ergül, acknowledging his responsibility as the chairman of the board, continued:
“I wouldn’t have involved my wife and children. My wife, daughters and grandchildren came to the hotel only for holidays and festivals. I learned about the deficiencies from the indictment. I never thought it could be such a major incident. If I had foreseen it, I wouldn’t have allowed guests, my family or the staff to stay there. I couldn’t foresee these risks. I felt safe because nothing like this had happened in 25 years. I’m deeply sorry, may no one ever experience such a thing.”
The panel rejected the requests to expand the investigation and to view the video already included in the case file.
After a short break, the court announced its decision.
THE SENTENCES
The panel sentenced the following detained defendants, hotel owner Halit Ergül, board members Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül, Elif Aras, and Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu, hotel manager Zeki Yılmaz, Gazelle Hotel general manager Ahmet Demir, hotel accounting manager Kadir Özdemir, hotel general manager Emir Aras, Bolu deputy mayor Sedat Gülener, acting fire chief Kenan Coşkun, and firefighter İrfan Acar, to 34 counts of life imprisonment each for “murder with probable intent” in relation to 34 children who died in the fire.
The 11 defendants were also sentenced to 24 years and 11 months in prison each for “murder with probable intent” concerning the 44 adults who lost their lives.
Defendants sentenced to life imprisonment:
Halit Ergül – Grand Kartal Hotel Owner
Emine Murtezaoğlu Ergül – Hotel Board Member
Ceyda Hacıbekiroğlu – Hotel Board Member
Elif Aras – Hotel Board Member
Emir Aras – Hotel General Manager
Zeki Yılmaz – Hotel Manager
Kadir Özdemir – Hotel Accounting Manager
Ahmet Demir – Gazelle Hotel General Manager
Sedat Gülener – Bolu Deputy Mayor
Kenan Coşkun – Acting Fire Chief of Bolu Municipality
İrfan Acar – Firefighter, Bolu Municipality
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Grand Kartal Otel’deki yangın faciası: Kararlar açıklandı!, published in BirGün newspaper on October 31, 2025.
