The legal process regarding the fire at Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Resort has started!

Judicial and administrative investigations have been launched into the fire that occurred yesterday at a hotel in Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center. Altınbaş University Faculty of Law Dean and Criminal Law Expert Prof. Dr. Hasan Sınar made important statements by evaluating the legal dimension of the fire. Prof. Dr. Sınar said, “Although it is difficult to satisfy the public conscience, the transfer of responsibilities to the lowest level employees should be prevented and those actually responsible should face criminal sanctions,” and underlined that the process should be followed transparently.

Referring to the details of the judicial investigations that started after the fire disaster, Prof. Dr. Sınar stated that the process following similar disasters in Türkiye often does not result in results that are contrary to expectations and do not satisfy the public conscience. Prof. Sınar stated that the problems left behind by the destruction and losses after previous major disasters are still unresolved.

Sınar gave information about the legal priorities in determining responsibility for the fire. “The hotel in the Kartalkaya region is a tourism business and there is a regulation in our legislation on the supervision of such businesses. The fifth, eighteenth and twentieth articles of the regulation clearly state that the responsibility for inspection lies with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.” During the inspection process, Hasan Sınar reminded that the Ministry inspectors should inspect the quality of the documents of the enterprises, their compliance with the project, the equipment used and the quality of the service standards, and also stated that it should be checked whether certain standards are met in accordance with the legislation on issues such as fire safety.

“The document obtained for Cafe and Restaurant does not cover the entire hotel”

Prof. Dr. Sınar pointed out that the legislation on fire safety in the hotel is also important. “The fire certificate obtained by the municipality for sections such as cafes or restaurants is not valid for the entire hotel. Therefore, it should be investigated whether elements such as fire safety, fire detectors and fire escapes are missing,” he said. He also said that the responsibility of the owners should be examined if fire safety is not ensured.

The criminal investigation into the management of the hotel where the fire occurred will also be deepened and an assessment will be made as to whether the operators can be held responsible on the level of conscious negligence or even probable intent. Prof. Dr. Sınar emphasized that the punishment of employees, especially at the level of small workers, should be prevented and that the responsibility should be given to business owners and managers.

Prof. Dr. Sınar said, “Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office will receive expert reports within the scope of the judicial investigation and a more comprehensive investigation will be carried out. This process is very important for the punishment of those responsible. It is a process that the public should follow carefully.” He also said that at the end of the process, those responsible should be punished and the public should play a role in ensuring justice.