Court delays mine landslide case pending new expert report

ERZİNCAN

A court on April 14 adjourned the next hearing in a criminal case over a 2024 landslide at a gold mine in eastern Türkiye that killed nine workers, postponing proceedings until July 7.

The court said the delay was necessary to complete missing documents and await a new expert report.

During the hearing, lawyers representing the plaintiffs submitted news reports alleging that a professor serving on the expert panel had commercial ties to the company operating the mine.

The court rejected a request by the lawyers to hear testimony from main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy leader Deniz Yavuz Yılmaz, but accepted a request to hear former Chamber of Metallurgical Engineers head Cemalettin Küçük as a witness.

Judges also denied a request for an on-site investigation at the mine.

Tensions flared in the courtroom when Yılmaz and fellow lawmaker Orhan Sarıbal argued with a defense lawyer. The hearing was adjourned after both were removed from the courtroom.

The court also ordered the release of one defendant, Selçuk Çiftlik.

An indictment prepared by the chief prosecutor’s office in the İliç district names 43 defendants in connection with the landslide, including executives from U.S.-based SSR Mining and its subsidiary, Anagold Mining. Prosecutors classify 12 defendants as primarily culpable.

According to the latest expert report submitted to the court, the disaster stemmed from “gross negligence” by senior officials, including deputy head of operations Ronald Guille and senior geotechnical engineer Ali Rıza Kalender.