On First Anniversary of Dilovası Fire, Families Demand: 'Those Responsible Must Answer'

On the first anniversary of the fire that broke out on November 8, 2023 at a perfume filling depot belonging to Ravive Cosmetics in the Mimar Sinan neighborhood of Kocaeli's Dilovası district, families of seven workers who died in the blaze organized a march and made statements.

Among those killed in the fire were 17-year-old Tuba Taşdemir, 17-year-old Nisa Taşdemir, and 16-year-old Cansu Esatoğlu. According to information previously disclosed by the families, the workers had been insured on the day of the incident.

The fifth hearing in the case, in which 23 defendants—including company officials and public servants, eight of them in custody and one at large—are being tried, was held on November 3; two defendants were released during that hearing. Reacting to the release of businessman Ali Osman Akat, one of the defendants, the families called out: "We want justice, justice! Let our voices be heard at last!"

At the memorial, the slogan "The murderer of children: the AKP government" was chanted. İlknur Yıldız, the wife of Tuncay Yıldız, said: "If those responsible were not from the AK Party but from another party, by now they would all have been imprisoned."

According to ANKA, the families noted that officials from that period attended the opening of Ravive Cosmetics and that inspectors who visited left with boxes full of perfume, saying: "Did our seven lives have no value? Those responsible must answer."

Zafer Gülek, the son of Hanım Gülek who lost her life, disclosed that the families had been offered a house and 15 million lira, emphasizing that all those responsible must stand trial.

Attending the memorial were DEM Party Kocaeli Deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, DEM Party Istanbul Deputy Kezban Konukçu, DEM Party Women's Council Spokesperson Halide Türkoğlu, Baran Seyhan from the YENİ Party, YENİ Party Kocaeli Provincial Chair Erdem Arcan, YENİ Party Dilovası District Chair Meral Pırtı, and Kocaeli Bar Association Chair Serdar Solak, along with representatives from unions and civil society organizations.

Gergerlioğlu argued that responsibility lies not only with Dilovası Municipality but also with Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan, the Kocaeli governor, the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality mayor, and the Dilovası district governor. Kocaeli Bar Association Chair Solak said the case would be a watershed moment for worker health and safety in the industrial city.