Footbridge to be demolished for violating privacy, Turkish court rules

KOCAELİ

A court in the northwestern province of Kocaeli has ruled that an overpass footbridge must be demolished upon the application of an 80-year-old woman, who had complained that pedestrians walking on the footbridge could see into her house.

The highways authority dispatched the necessary equipment to be used during demolition on May 4, but protests by NGOs and locals stopped the bulldozing from taking place.

Locals say thousands of people use the overpass, which links the neighborhoods of Körfez Yeni Yalı and Barbaros on a main highway, every day. 

Some locals contacted the 80-year-old complainant and had the overpass fenced so that no pedestrian could see inside her home, but they were unable to persuade her to withdraw her complaint. 

Following the locals’ protest on May 4, police were dispatched to the area, where they took the statements of the protestors saying they could not see inside any nearby buildings. 

The highway authority has since hung a banner on the bridge reading: “This footbridge will be taken down as per the rule of the Kocaeli 2nd administrative court.”