One in which no one takes responsibility for loss of life

The verdict of the trial into the Soma mining disaster, where 301 workers were killed in what became the country’s worst mining disaster, has also sparked outrage. The sentence, which was initially set to be announced on July 9 – overlapping with Erdoğan’s swearing-in ceremony – was first postponed to July 11. The court eventually found the managers of the mining company only guilty for negligence, angering families of victims who were demanding that the sentences handed out to company officials set a precedent by convicting them from murder charges. A shadow of impunity already hung over the case after the government blocked investigations against public servants responsible of monitoring workplace safety at mines.