Soma disaster mine with 301 deaths: imprisonment in Turkey

More than four years after the serious mining accident in Soma, western Turkey, with more than 300 deaths, a court handed down jail sentences controversial. Family members shouted to the judges after the verdict. (Photo: KEYSTONE / AP)

(nda / dpa)

The judgments against the management of the mine were particularly tense: it was alleged to have neglected the for-profit security measures. The director of the mining company is now in prison for 15 years, reported Wednesday the official Anadolu news agency. The director of the mine was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison.

In total, according to the DHA news agency, there were prison terms ranging from 6 to 22 years for 14 of the 51 accused. 37 were acquitted – among them the former boss of the mine. The sentence was therefore well below the expectations of the victims' lawyers and survivors. The prosecution had repeatedly asked for life imprisonment for only eleven of the accused

. The anger of the big lawyer

Parents shouted angrily to the judges. A lawyer said after the trial, "Our anger is really huge. The spokesman for the victims' lawyers, Can Atalay, told the news agency that they would take action against the convictions. There were riots on television in the province of Manisa

The accident began on May 13, 2014 in the lignite mine. The cause is still not fully understood. 301 dude is dead – most choked, among others, because he was missing according to media reports on ventilation systems and shelters. Hundreds of miners were injured.

It was the heaviest mining accident in the history of Turkey and it had paid great attention to the poor working conditions in the Turkish mining industry. The images of the dead and the saved have traveled around the world.

The trial lasted more than three years. Vicar attorney Atalay has repeatedly protested that he and his colleagues have been repeatedly put in the path of the stones. Last week, the verdict was postponed last week.