Turkish police arrested Ökkeş Kavak, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) mayor of Nurdağı district in Turkey’s Gaziantep (Dilok) province on Saturday based on an investigation into collapsed buildings in the district during the twin earthquakes that killed around 44,000 people in the country, reports Anadolu Agency. Kavak was also the contractor of two collapsed buildings.
Duvar News revealed that Kavak’s brother was the co-operator of Yunus Kaya, whose buildings also collapsed during the quake. Nurdağı Municipality did not carry out the necessary inspections on several collapsed buildings that Kaya built.
Kaya, who is also an alderman in the Nurdağı Municipality, was also arrested on Thursday in the southern province of Mersin.
During the investigations carried out regarding the collapsed buildings across Gaziantep, 22 people were arrested, and arrest warrants have been issued for 80 people, reported Duvar news.
Nurdağı is one of the most damaged districts from the 6 February earthquakes.