An Akhisar district court in the Turkish province of Aegean Manisa handed out four prison sentences relating to the Soma coal mine disaster, where 301 miners perished in the country’s deadliest mine disaster during May 2014. On July 11, the court sentenced Can Gürkan, the mine owner, to 15 years and the mine’s general manager, Ramazan Doğru, to 22.5 years, according to the Hurriyet Daily News. The mine’s operations director, Akın Çelik, received a jail sentence of 18.5 years, while his deputy, İsmail Adalı, was given a sentence of 22.5 years.
The prosecutor had previously demanded the arrest of Soma Holding Chairman Alp Gürkan in March, but the court refused this demand. A total of 51 people were accused of failing to provide adequate safety measures. More than 700 miners were inside the mine when a fire erupted during a shift change.
