A new stay of execution verdict has been issued for the continuing construction project at the site of the historical Emek Movie Theatre. On the other hand, the State Council ruled for the launching of an investigation involving four persons including Beyoğlu Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan on the grounds that they had not taken “necessary precautions during the construction”.
Details of the legal process were presented at a press conference held at the TMMOB (The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects) this morning (13 January 2015, 11 AM). A stay of execution verdict had also been issued for the historical Cercle d’Orient building that had been leased by the construction company Kamer İnşaat after the site had been declared a renovation area, however this verdict was later annulled despite expert opinions to the contrary.
‘Both against the law and the public good’
The Chamber of Architects appealed against the annulment of the stay of execution, and the Istanbul Regional Administrative Court declared, following its examination of the case file, another stay of execution for the Emek Movie Theatre construction project valid as of 8 January 2015. The reasoned decision of the court states that the project is “both against the law and the public good”, adding, “In the event that operations subject to the court case continue, damage that may be hard or impossible to recover will be caused to buildings defined as historical and cultural heritage, therefore the court has unanimously ruled for a stay of execution and the return of the file to the court”.
‘If the construction continues, it constitutes a crime’
Can Atalay, lawyer for the Chamber of Architects, stated, “If the stay of execution verdict is not implemented from this day on, everyone involved in the construction will be committing a crime”.
Investigation verdict for 4 officials including Mayor
Mücella Yapıcı of the Chamber of Architects made public another important legal development at the meeting, and stated that the State Court 1st Chamber had accepted the criminal complaint that they had issued regarding four officials for not taking the necessary precautions during the construction. This means that an investigation will be launched into the involvement of Beyoğlu Mayor Ahmet Misbah Demircan and officials Barış Çelikkan, Mehmet Ali Kaplan and İlhan Turan.
Call for action –Saturday 5 PM
A call for action was also made for 17 January 2015, Saturday, 5 PM, at the Emek Movie Theatre.
