Turkey has issued 113 arrest warrants for an investigation into shoddy construction work that could have caused massive casualties in the aftermath of the quake. The picture shows on February 12, 2023, the scene of an earthquake rescue operation in Hatay Province, Turkey. (BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, February 13, 2023](The Epoch Times reporter Li Xin comprehensive report) Turkish officials said that the country has issued 113 arrest warrants, and the government suspects that these arrests may be responsible for the loss of many buildings in the earthquake last week. responsible for the collapse.
Turkish police have detained at least a dozen people, including construction contractors, in connection with the construction of the collapsed buildings. Several of them were arrested at the airport.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Saturday arrest warrants had been issued for 131 people suspected of being involved in the collapse of the building.
As of Sunday (February 12), the confirmed death toll from last week’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria had risen to nearly 35,000.
Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said after arriving in southern Turkey on Saturday to assess the damage from the quake that he expected the death toll to be at least 50,000.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday the quake was the “disaster of the century”.
Meanwhile, unrest in southern Turkey has disrupted relief efforts in some places.
More arrests are expected, but many are likely to see the action as an attempt by the Turkish government to deflect overall responsibility for the disaster.
Turkey does have building codes, but they are rarely enforced.
For years, experts have warned that many new buildings in Turkey are unsafe due to widespread corruption and government policies. The policies allow for so-called amnesty for contractors who break building codes, encouraging a construction boom, including in earthquake-prone areas.
Thousands of buildings collapsed in the quake, raising questions about whether the impact of the natural disaster was made worse by human error.
Eyup Muhcu, president of the Turkish Association of Architects, told the Associated Press that many of the buildings that collapsed were built using poor-quality materials and methods, without regard to Turkey’s building codes.
“This is a disaster caused by poor engineering, not an earthquake,” David Alexander, a professor of emergency planning at University College London, told The Associated Press.
With Turkey’s parliamentary and presidential elections looming in May, President Erdogan’s political future is in jeopardy after 20 years in power.
Responsible editor: Li Qiong #