TURKEY EARTHQUAKE: 160 SUSPECTS REMANDED IN TURKIYE OVER COLLAPSE OF BUILDINGS

Wed 22 February 2023:

At least 160 suspects were remanded in custody across Turkiye over the collapse of buildings following the 6 February deadly quakes, according to judicial sources on Wednesday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Turkish prosecutors charged 564 suspects as part of the investigation on collapsed buildings or flouting of construction codes, the sources said.

At least 175 suspects were released under judicial control, which means they will regularly have to report to their nearest police station.

In addition, arrest warrants were issued for 71 suspects and detention orders were issued for 61 others.

While 18 people are still in custody by the order of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to the sources, 11 other suspects have died. Six suspects are abroad, the sources added.

According to the latest official figures, at least 42,300 people have died in the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes on 6 February that were centred in Turkiye’s southern Kahramanmaras province and struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Adiyaman, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa and Elazig.

The Turkish government has made a flurry of arrests of building contractors, as opposition figures have criticised the non-adherence to building construction codes for the massive loss of lives.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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