Türkiye arrests 184 people over earthquakes, including AKP mayor

Mayor Kavak with President Erdoğan (Photo: Ökkeş Kavak/Twitter)

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A court on Saturday (February 25) arrested a district mayor in the southeastern Antep city, which was heavily affected by the February 6 earthquakes, in an investigation into the collapsed buildings.

Prosecutors have alleged that Ökkeş Kavak, mayor of the Nurdağı district and a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), failed to conduct the required building inspections.

In his statement to the prosecutors, Kavak said he had lost several relatives in the quakes. He had previously worked as a contractor, but handed his company over to his brother after being elected the mayor, he said.

Ökkeş Kavak's brother, Osman Kavak, and his two children lost their lives in the quakes.

Over 600 suspects

Kavak is among the 184 people who have been remanded in custody over the massive earthquakes, according to a statement from Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ.

So far, the authorities have initiated legal action against 612 suspects, Bozdağ said on Saturday. Judicial control measures were imposed on 214 of them and arrest warrants were issued against 71 suspects. Two people are currently in detention while 16 of the suspects were found to be dead.

Also, 22 people have been remanded in custody and arrest warrants have been issued against 80 others in relation to the collapsed buildings in Antep city. One of them is Yunus Kaya, a member of the Nurdağı city council, who was the contractor of buildings where hundreds of people lost their lives under the rubble.

On February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 struck the southern city of Maraş.

The quakes affected 11 cities in Türkiye's south and southeast, as well as Syria's northern parts.

The official death toll from the quakes stands at over 44,000 and is expected to increase further, as over 160,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, according to government figures.

Nearly two million people have been displaced because of the earthquakes. (RT/VK)