The trial concerning the tragic fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Gerede, Bolu, continues to unfold. This disaster resulted in the deaths of 78 individuals and left 133 people injured. In relation to the incident, 32 defendants are facing charges, with 19 of them held in detention.
On the fifth day of the trial, a pivotal moment occurred when security camera footage was presented to the court after the defendants’ statements were concluded. The video evidence showed the hotel’s General Manager, Damat Emir Aras, saving his own family first, an act that sparked an uproar among observers in the courtroom. The footage depicted Aras initially stepping out of his room in the first moments of the fire to check the hallway. Subsequently, he was seen quickly gathering his belongings and evacuating the building with his family.
In a related development, the court ruled that four non-detained defendants would be placed under house arrest for a period of 4 months. As the trial progressed to its sixth day, the court began hearing testimonies from the complainants, starting with Adnan Karadayı, who served as the reception chief.
Adnan Karadayı, who was staying on the same floor as General Manager Emir Aras, provided his testimony as a complainant. He explained his background, noting his employment at Grand Kartal began in December after previously working at Gazelle. “I have worked at Grand Kartal before, in reception during the winter seasons between 2007 and 2014,” he stated, confirming the presence of fire alarm buttons in the corridors. “I was on the 7th floor. At 03:31, Yiğithan Burak called me and said, ‘Sir, there’s a fire.’ He was in a panic.” Karadayı recounted receiving calls from three other staff members before leaving his room. “I opened the door opposite me, and there was an incredible amount of smoke. I heard people’s voices and told them the fire escape was here… I went down to the lowest floor and got people out through the ski room.” He recalled Zeki Yılmaz calling him at 03:49 to ask if he had escaped. He also mentioned that he had heard about inspections by White Fox and the fire department, adding that Reşat Bölük was in charge of the kitchen area’s inspection and cleaning.
The court was then shown the security footage from the 7th floor in more detail. The video captured Emir Aras emerging from his room to survey the corridor. After realizing the severity of the blaze, Aras is seen running back into his room. Within about a minute, General Manager Emir Aras and his wife, Elif Aras, hastily exited with their children and belongings. The screening of this sequence prompted anguished cries from the victims’ families, with shouts of, “You could have saved everyone, you are murderers!”
Following the video presentation, lawyers for the complainants questioned Adnan Karadayı, asking, “Could you not have woken the other guests on the same floor?” Karadayı defended his actions, describing the chaotic scene: “When I woke up, you couldn’t see a thing. I led people out from the 1st-floor ski room via the fire stairs. There was dense smoke on the 5th floor and extreme heat on the 4th floor.” Based on this, the complainants’ lawyers formally requested a warrant for the arrest and detention of Adnan Karadayı.
The court ultimately rejected the request for Karadayı’s arrest, citing a lack of sufficient evidence and noting his absence from the presented footage. However, the court did issue a ruling for four other defendants not in custody. A 4-month house arrest sentence was ordered for İbrahim Polat, owner of the Mudurnu A.Ş. company; İsmail Karagöz, an official at Mudurnu A.Ş.; Yiğithan Burak Çetin, a reception staff member; and Ali Ağaoğlu, the owner of the FQC Auditing Firm.