Arrests over Turkey earthquakes rise to 284

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Some 284 suspects have been arrested since last month's massive earthquakes, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ announced yesterday (March 16).

Legal action has been taken against 1,219 suspects in ex-officio investigations initiated by prosecutors, Bozdağ said at a press conference in Diyarbakır, one of the cities affected by the quakes.

"Among those, 284 suspects were remanded in custody, judicial control orders were imposed against 416 suspects, arrest warrants were issued against 416 suspects and detention orders were issued against 95 suspects," the minister remarked. Fifty-three suspects were found to have died and four others were abroad, he added.

Among the arrested, 102 were contractors, 151 were building inspectors, 13 were building owners and 18 were people who made alterations to buildings, according to the minister.

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, where more than 5,000 people were killed.

Turkey's official death toll from the quakes stands at over 48,000 and is expected to increase further, as more than 227,000 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. (RT/VK)