Irish ‘boxing’ tourist sues Turkish shopkeeper

ISTANBUL

An Irish tourist, who hit headlines after being captured on video taking on a mob of 15 shopkeepers in Istanbul in 2015, has filed a complaint against one of the attackers over injuries sustained in the brawl.

Mohammed Fadel Dobbous, who was declared a hero by social media users after footage emerged of him resisting the attack in August 2015, is demanding 101,000 Turkish Liras in compensation from attacker Şenol Palan, daily Habertürk reported on Nov. 28.

Palan was previously sentenced to three years and six months in jail for attacking and injuring Dobbous in the fight, which erupted after the tourist accidentally spilled a fridge full of water bottles.

According to the complaint submitted by Dobbous’ lawyer Gökhan Cindemir, the Irish citizen suffered from a bone fracture that could not be healed with simple medical treatment after the attack.

“The defendant was determined by the court as the person who started and organized the attack, and was given a jail term for his role, shows that he is responsible for the damage my client suffered from,” Cindemir said in the complaint.

Dobbous was incapacitated and had to pay for treatment with his own money at a private hospital, the lawyer added.

“My client couldn’t work after the incident. He had to close the store where he was repairing cell phones and couldn’t return to his country due to his injuries,” Cindemir said.

In addition, the complaint stated that Dobbous was wrongly presented as an “aggressive alcoholic” by the shopkeepers in the original case in which Palan was sentenced.

As a result, the Irish tourist demanded a total of 1,000 liras for material damages and 100,000 liras for mental anguish.