The chief executive of the mine where 301 miners died in 2014 in Turkey's deadliest industrial accident on Thursday insisted he was not a murderer and said he was still struggling to understand the causes of the tragedy.
"What hurt me the most were the charges. I am not a murderer," Can Gurkan, the chief executive of the Soma Komur mining company, said on the third day of the trial into the disaster.
Gurkan, 35, is one of eight former managers standing trial on murder charges over the accident on May 13, 2014 in Soma in western Turkey that left 301 miners dead and exposed shocking safety standards in Turkish mines.
Prosecutors in their indictment have said each of the eight should serve 25-year sentences, multiplied 301 times for every victim, on charges of "killing with probable criminal intent".
This would result in a total sentence for each of 7,525 years in prison for the fatalities.
Prosecutors say the miners were killed after inhaling gas and toxic smoke from the fire which was caused when an abandoned pile of coal left next to an electrical transformer caught fire.
But Gurkan argued that investigators should look to causes other than poor safety standards, saying the mine had a strong safety record and had not skimped on spending.
"I wish we were freed and could do our own research to shed light on the accident," Gurkan told the court in the town of Akhisar in his first comments in person.
"I'm still struggling to understand what happened and will hopefully come up with an explanation."
Dressed in a dark blue suit and with a full beard, Gurkan appeared composed and sought to directly address the families of the victims.
"I cannot imagine how much pain their families suffer but please be assured that my thoughts and prayers are with them during this trying time.
"Our hearts were set on fire 301 times," he said.
But relatives shouted in the courtroom: "Don't pray for us, murderer!" The judge then ordered two relatives of the victims out of the courtroom.
"I hope that the justice will be served so that the people we lost rest in peace," Gurkan said, as families ironically shouted "Inshallah!" (God Willing!).
- 'Ruined our lives' -
The general manager of the mine and fellow suspect, Ramazan Dogru, also ridiculed the murder charges, saying he had risked his own life to help save the miners.
"As soon as I learnt about the accident I put on my mask and entered the mine in my plain clothes. How can they say I wanted to kill them?" he asked.
Wearing a grey suit without a tie, looking dishevelled and anxious, he told the court: "There hasn't been a single day that I didn't think about how this accident happened."
Mining manager Akin Celik said: "I am ready to take whatever punishment." But he said he was impossible to suggest he had intended the deaths of the miners.
"I stand accused of killing my best friends. I cry for them in my cell in prison and my bed," he said.
Shift manager Ismail Adali told the court: "I am a victim too. My little son cannot go to the school because they call him the murderer's son.
"This accident ruined our lives too."
Amid tense scenes, the relatives started shouting "you will die the worst of deaths!", prompting the judge to call a break in proceedings to calm the situation.
The eight managers were not brought to court on the first day of the trial on Monday for security reasons. But the judge agreed to objections from relatives and they appeared for the first time on Wednesday.
Another 37 suspects also on trial face hefty sentences on lesser charges of homicide by negligence.
The chief executive of the mine where 301 miners died in 2014 in Turkey’s deadliest industrial accident on Thursday insisted he was not a murderer and said he was still struggling to understand the causes of the tragedy.
“What hurt me the most were the charges. I am not a murderer,” Can Gurkan, the chief executive of the Soma Komur mining company, said on the third day of the trial into the disaster.
Gurkan, 35, is one of eight former managers standing trial on murder charges over the accident on May 13, 2014 in Soma in western Turkey that left 301 miners dead and exposed shocking safety standards in Turkish mines.
Prosecutors in their indictment have said each of the eight should serve 25-year sentences, multiplied 301 times for every victim, on charges of “killing with probable criminal intent”.
This would result in a total sentence for each of 7,525 years in prison for the fatalities.
Prosecutors say the miners were killed after inhaling gas and toxic smoke from the fire which was caused when an abandoned pile of coal left next to an electrical transformer caught fire.
But Gurkan argued that investigators should look to causes other than poor safety standards, saying the mine had a strong safety record and had not skimped on spending.
“I wish we were freed and could do our own research to shed light on the accident,” Gurkan told the court in the town of Akhisar in his first comments in person.
“I’m still struggling to understand what happened and will hopefully come up with an explanation.”
Dressed in a dark blue suit and with a full beard, Gurkan appeared composed and sought to directly address the families of the victims.
“I cannot imagine how much pain their families suffer but please be assured that my thoughts and prayers are with them during this trying time.
“Our hearts were set on fire 301 times,” he said.
But relatives shouted in the courtroom: “Don’t pray for us, murderer!” The judge then ordered two relatives of the victims out of the courtroom.
“I hope that the justice will be served so that the people we lost rest in peace,” Gurkan said, as families ironically shouted “Inshallah!” (God Willing!).
– ‘Ruined our lives’ –
The general manager of the mine and fellow suspect, Ramazan Dogru, also ridiculed the murder charges, saying he had risked his own life to help save the miners.
“As soon as I learnt about the accident I put on my mask and entered the mine in my plain clothes. How can they say I wanted to kill them?” he asked.
Wearing a grey suit without a tie, looking dishevelled and anxious, he told the court: “There hasn’t been a single day that I didn’t think about how this accident happened.”
Mining manager Akin Celik said: “I am ready to take whatever punishment.” But he said he was impossible to suggest he had intended the deaths of the miners.
“I stand accused of killing my best friends. I cry for them in my cell in prison and my bed,” he said.
Shift manager Ismail Adali told the court: “I am a victim too. My little son cannot go to the school because they call him the murderer’s son.
“This accident ruined our lives too.”
Amid tense scenes, the relatives started shouting “you will die the worst of deaths!”, prompting the judge to call a break in proceedings to calm the situation.
The eight managers were not brought to court on the first day of the trial on Monday for security reasons. But the judge agreed to objections from relatives and they appeared for the first time on Wednesday.
Another 37 suspects also on trial face hefty sentences on lesser charges of homicide by negligence.
