10 officials acquitted in Soma mining disaster case

MANISA

A local court has acquitted 10 of the 28 public officials on trial concerning the 2014 mining disaster in the western city of Manisa's Soma district that claimed the lives of 301 miners.

The 18 others received prison sentences ranging from five months to six months and seven days.

The hearing was held at the Soma district on April 29, with the defendants attending via the video talk system.

At the trial, lawyers representing the miners’ families once more argued that the charges should be based on involuntary manslaughter and injury, not misconduct in public office. They also demanded that the case be transferred to a higher criminal court. 

The defense lawyers, on the other hand, requested either the acquittal of their clients or the dismissal of the case due to the statute of limitations.

Following the verdict, the courtroom saw reactions from the families of the victims.

Murat Kemal Gündüz, one of the lawyers representing the victims' families, spoke to the press after the trial, stating, “Ten of the 28 defendants were acquitted. We do not yet know the detailed reasoning behind this. We believe explanations will appear later on.”