Survivors of Türkiye’s devastating 2023 earthquakes face criminal probe

Three years after the earthquakes, eight survivors now face investigation.

Prosecutors in Kahramanmaras have opened a criminal investigation into earthquake survivors who lost family members in the Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes and journalists who covered related trials, following a complaint by a court-appointed expert panel whose reports have drawn public controversy.

The investigation names eight people as “suspects,” as reported by T24.

The complaint came from five academics who prepared expert reports in multiple earthquake collapse cases, including the Ezgi Apartment file, where 35 people were killed.

The move adds a new layer to the legal process surrounding building collapse trials across southern Türkiye.

A damaged residential building and piles of debris are seen after the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes in southern Türkiye. (AA Photo)

Disputed expert findings

In 2024, courts appointed Turgay Cosgun, Cihan Oser, Mucteba Uysal, Hakki Eski, and Baris Sayin to prepare new expert reports in at least 18 earthquake-related criminal cases.

In high-profile files such as Ezgi Apartment and Sait Bey Sitesi, the panel issued opinions stating that defendants were not criminally responsible for the collapses. Following those reports, courts released some defendants who had faced possible decades-long prison sentences.

Families of victims criticized the findings. The expert panel later claimed it had been subjected to a “lynch campaign” and said conditions for working in an “independent and impartial” manner had deteriorated.

Members requested to withdraw from the cases.

Instead, the Kahramanmaras Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation based on the panel’s complaint.

Search and rescue operations continue at collapsed building after 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hits Osmaniye, Türkiye, Feb. 6, 2023. (AA Photo)

Eight suspects, eight charges

In its petition, the panel requested that survivors who filed complaints against them and journalists who reported on the controversy be prosecuted.

The complaint lists eight alleged crimes under Turkish law:

• Slander
• False statement
• Knowingly misleading judicial authorities
• Written threat via email
• Attempting to influence an expert performing a judicial duty
• Violation of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data
• False complaint
• Insult

Those named as suspects include:

• Mulla Kenger, one of two survivors rescued alive from the Ezgi Apartment rubble. He lost his wife in the collapse.
• Muhammed Emin Kenger, who lost relatives in the earthquake.
• Mesut Kenger was rescued from the Ezgi Apartment. He lost his mother.
• Nurten Ozdemir, who lost her sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews.
• Nurgul Goksu, who lost her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild.
• Timur Soykan, a BirGun columnist who covered earthquake trials.
• Ismail Ari, a BirGun reporter who covered the cases.
• Ramazan Eyigun, who sent an email to the panel stating, “You will give an account in court, you will be tried.”

Prosecutors have taken statements from some of those listed. Others are expected to testify in the coming days.

According to the reports, the expert panel’s complaint also referenced negative coverage about them in certain newspapers.

However, the panel did not file complaints against reporters or executives from those outlets.

The development comes as thousands of criminal and administrative cases linked to collapsed buildings continue across 11 provinces affected by the 2023 earthquakes.

According to official figures, the Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes killed 53,697 people in Türkiye.

For families who lost relatives, court proceedings remain central to how responsibility will be defined.

This latest investigation places some survivors and journalists inside the legal process as suspects, not only as complainants or observers, adding another layer to an accountability debate that continues three years after the disaster.

March 02, 2026 03:01 PM GMT+03:00