Indictment Against HDP’s Kürkçü, CHP’s Tanal Over Occupational Homicide Protest

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İstanbul Public Chief Prosecutor's Office has demanded from 2 years and 2 months to up to 7 years in prison for Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Deputy Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Mahmut Tanal for the crimes of "opposing to the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations" and "resisting in order to hinder fulfilling duty".

The Prosecutor's Office in the bill of indictment has claimed that Mahmut Tanal and Ertuğrul Kürkçü, both MPs in the 26th term, had committed crimes in the demonstration staged in front of the worksite in Şişli where the elevator accident killing 10 people had occurred two years ago.

In the indictment, Şişli District Security Department has been declared as the "denunciator".

According to the indictment, the two MPs are claimed to have blocked the Büyükdere street in Mecidiyeköy district of İstanbul off to traffic with approximately 2,000 people gathered in protest of the accident in which a lift in a working site owned by the Torunlar Corporation had dropped killing 10 people in September 2014 in Şişli.

Tanal testified; Kürkçü submitted petition

In the indictment, it has been stated that the suspect Mahmut Tanal denying the accusations against him in his testimony before the Prosecutor's office, had requested a ruling that a prosecution was not necessary.

Kürkçü on the other hand, has submitted a petition to the Prosecutor's Office reminding that he was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), had a legislative and parliamentary immunity as such and thus could not be subjected to any prosecution or be summoned to testify until his term in the PACE was expired.

What had happened?

On September 7, 2014, a lift carrying workers in the construction of Torun Center on the area of the former Ali Sami Yen Stadium dropped from the 32th floor, killing 10 workers.

The workers who had lost their lives in the incident were Tahir Kara, Hıdır Ali Genç, İsmail Sarıtaş, Bilal Bal, Cengiz Tatoğlu, Murat Usta, Menderes Meşe, Vahdet Biçer, Ferdi Kara, Cengiz Bilgi.

On the same day, workers' unions who wanted to protest the incident were prohibited upon which the MPs Kürkçü and Tanal had meetings with the police in order to get permission for holding press statements regarding the incident.

In the hearing on October 27, 2016 a 103-page expert report was submitted to the court. The report stated that those who were responsible for the incident could not be identified with certainty. (HK/DG)