In a landmark ruling, a Turkish court has sentenced two senior figures involved in the construction of a residential complex that collapsed during the February 6, 2023, earthquake in Kahramanmaraş.

The collapse resulted in the deaths of 1,400 individuals.

The court handed down sentences of 18 years and eight months each to senior contractor Tevfik Tepebaşı and Atilla Öz, head of the cooperative responsible for the building, on charges of 'causing death and injury through conscious negligence.' The verdict specifically pertains to Block B of the Ebrar complex, where 115 people lost their lives.

The Ebrar complex comprised 22 eight-story blocks, nearly all of which were destroyed during the 7.8-magnitude tremor.

Investigations revealed that the destruction was attributed to project and implementation errors, rather than ground conditions.

In related proceedings, a separate Turkish court sentenced contractor Hasan Alpargün to 865 years in prison for his role in constructing a building in Adana that collapsed during the same earthquake, resulting in 96 fatalities.

The February 2023 earthquake, one of Turkey's most devastating natural disasters, claimed over 53,500 lives in the country and nearly 6,000 in neighboring Syria.

It also led to the destruction of approximately 39,000 buildings and left another 200,000 severely damaged, rendering nearly two million people homeless.

In the immediate aftermath, Turkish authorities arrested more than 200 contractors and developers, accusing them of using substandard materials and disregarding construction standards.

However, there have been limited investigations into public officials who approved building permits and safety inspections.