Turkish Authorities Target Criminal Construction Negligence After Earthquake

In the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, officials in Turkey have issued 113 arrest warrants in connection to the construction of collapsed buildings, Tom Bateman and Laura Gozzi report for The BBC. At least 12 people, including building contractors, have been taken into custody, and more arrests are expected. However, many people see the arrests as an attempt to divert overall blame for the disaster. Experts had warned that many new buildings in Turkey were unsafe due to endemic corruption and government policies that allowed contractors to circumvent building regulations.

“This is a man-made disaster. And local authorities, central authorities, ministries, the decision-making authorities, if they have taken a role in the wrong techniques, engineers, architects, we are all responsible,” Sibel Bas, Turkish Chamber of Architects and Engineers told PBS NewsHour  recently.