Report:
The Bartın High Criminal Court has completed the fifth session of a case involving an explosion in a mine belonging to TTK Amasra Enterprise. The court accepted the 195-page indictment prepared by the Bartın Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The hearings for the case were held on multiple dates, including April 25-28, May 3-5, July 24-25, and October 16-18. The hearing took place at the Bartın Courthouse, with the attendance of detained and undetained defendants, complainants, relatives of the victims, and lawyers. Stringent security measures were implemented in and around the courthouse by law enforcement forces. A total of 145 witnesses were present, with 74 in the fourth hearing and 71 in the fifth hearing. After the witnesses were heard, the public prosecutor expressed their opinion, requesting the continuation of the current situation for the detained defendants and judicial control measures for the undetained defendants. Complainant’s lawyer Derviş Emre Aydın presented a 3D simulation to explain the structure in the quarry, highlighting that the sensors in the quarry were 1.70 centimeters high. Aydın argued that the sensors did not activate as they were supposed to, even at values of 1.49 centimeters, indicating that some sensors were not properly connected to the circuit breaker. The complainant’s lawyers demanded that occupational safety experts should also be tried, emphasizing witness statements that revealed insufficient mask training, production pressure, disorderly operation, nepotism, and relocation of sensors. The lawyers requested the continuation of the detained defendants’ situation and the trial of the defendants, occupational safety specialist HG and F.K, in detention. The defendants who were not detained demanded their acquittal and denied the allegations, while the detained defendants repeated their previous statements and requested their release. The defendants’ lawyers disagreed with the opinion regarding the continuation of detention and requested the release of their clients. The court panel decided to continue the detention of the defendants and stated that a 5-person expert committee would be formed before the next hearing to evaluate whether exploration could be carried out in the mine. The hearing was postponed to hear the remaining witnesses.
ESG Risks:
1. Occupational safety risks in the mining industry
2. Insufficient mask training
3. Production pressure
4. Disorderly operation
5. Nepotism
6. Sensor relocation
Vulnerable Groups:
1. Workers in the mining industry
2. Relatives of those who lost their lives in the explosion
Organisations:
1. Bartın Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office
2. Bartın High Criminal Court
3. TTK Amasra Enterprise
4. Mining engineers and professors (to be formed expert committee)
Sectors:
1. Mining industry
Keywords:
1. Indictment
2. Explosion
3. Court hearing
4. Detained defendants
5. Undetained defendants
6. Witnesses
7. Public prosecutor
8. Occupational safety experts
9. Mask training
10. Production pressure
11. Disorderly operation
12. Nepotism
13. Sensor activation
14. Expert committee
15. Mining industry
16. Acquittal
17. Detention