Irish-Kuwaiti tourist to sue Turkish shopkeepers who attacked him: Lawyer

ISTANBUL

DHA photo

The lawyer of a Kuwait-born Irish tourist who was captured on video taking on 15 shopkeepers in Istanbul has said his client plans to sue the assailants.

“The incident is currently subject of a criminal investigation. We are also studying it. It might be prosecuted over causing physical injury deliberately, but when reviewed closely, you see that it goes all the way to attempted murder,” Mohammed Fadel Dobbous’ Turkish attorney, Gökhan Cindemir, told Doğan News Agency on Aug. 27.

Cindemir said they received the police reports and were now waiting for the prosecutor’s investigation to sue the 15 shopkeepers, including ones who attacked Dobbous with sticks and stools. He said they would seek compensation for the physical injuries and psychological trauma his client suffered.

Dobbous had earlier told the media he had suffered a number of injuries during the incident, including a broken arm, a cracked shoulder blade and a stab wound in his waist, while he also lost property, including his cell phone and a gold necklace.

Speaking to Doğan News Agency, the tourist repeated he only resorted to self-defence when a shopkeeper attacked him after he accidentally topped a number of water bottles while removing one from a fridge outside a shop.

“I’ve never experienced a similar incident in another country. Perhaps small fights occurred elsewhere, but at least we were on equal terms and nobody had arms. Nobody hurled a stool at me before, or an electric furnace or iron bars,” he said.

The tourist also said he has enjoyed his new-found fame in Turkey, where he decided to stay until his treatment was completed. 

“People stop me everywhere to take photos. Turks apologize to me, saying they are sorry for what happened.

They are embarrassed; they don’t like when Turkey become news due to violence,” he added.

Many Turks had declared Dobbous a hero on social media after the video of the incident which occurred earlier this month was aired by private broadcaster Show TV this week.

“I love Turkey very much. I am a Muslim and I don’t have any grudge against anybody. What happened to me here was just misfortune,” Dobbous said.