Ankara Court Orders New Expert Report in Construction Site Fatality Case
Ankara, Turkey – July 1, 2026 – An Ankara court has ruled for a new expert report in the case involving the deaths of two intern engineering students and the injury of one intern during a construction site accident in 2022. The incident, which saw formwork collapse during a severe storm and heavy rain, has led to the trial of five defendants.
The trial, held at the Ankara 1st High Criminal Court, continued with the presence of complainants, non-detained defendants Alpcan Ergüven, İnan Yücel, Emrah Akyol, Bayram Yüksel, and Sinan Kar, as well as their lawyers. The presiding judge announced that an expert report had been submitted to the file, which identified defendant İnan Yücel as primarily at fault and defendant Sinan Kar as secondarily at fault. The report also stated that there was insufficient information and documentation to attribute fault to the other defendants, Emrah Akyol, Alpcan Ergüven, and Bayram Yüksel, thus deeming them faultless.
Three Defendants Sought for Acquittal
The public prosecutor, in his main opinion, requested that defendants İnan Yücel and Sinan Kar be punished for the crime of “causing death and injury by negligence,” while seeking the acquittal of Emrah Akyol, Alpcan Ergüven, and Bayram Yüksel.
Defendant Alpcan Ergüven, speaking in his defense, claimed that he was also injured during the incident but was being tried as a defendant instead of a victim due to the minor nature of his injury and his not having obtained a medical report. He requested his acquittal. Defendant Emrah Akyol stated that he was only responsible for documentation at the construction site and had no authority in on-site application and decision-making processes. He added that occupational safety training was provided by an assigned expert, saying, “I don’t understand why I have been a defendant since day one,” and requested his acquittal.
Defendant İnan Yücel denied the accusations against him and the findings in the expert report, claiming that he was not given the necessary warnings. Defendant Sinan Kar also stated that he had submitted his objections to the expert report in writing and requested his acquittal. Defendant Bayram Yüksel requested an acquittal in line with the expert report and the main opinion.
Call for Application of “Possible Intent” Provisions
Complainant Ege Kıratlı argued that preparing an expert report without including the project organization and authority chart prevented a healthy evaluation and rendered the report flawed. İsmail Çetin, father of the deceased Emre Çetin, and Zeki Öztürk, father of Taha Öztürk, also stated that the expert report was incomplete and insufficient, asserting that there were conscious neglects in the incident and that the defendants should be tried under the provisions of “possible intent.”
New Expert Report to Be Obtained
The court panel, in its interim decision, ruled that due to contradictions in previous expert reports obtained during the investigation and prosecution, a new expert report should be obtained from a new panel to resolve these contradictions. The hearing was adjourned until November 2.
