In the Acıbadem neighborhood of Istanbul's Kadıköy district, local residents have been resisting for 214 days against construction that began to build a parking lot for Medipol Hospital, owned by former Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, on one of the few remaining green spaces next to the E-5 Metro line.
According to a report by YeşilGazete, citizens who had begun a vigil after trees started being removed on land belonging to the General Directorate of Highways—for which the tender was issued by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality—were attacked yesterday by the hospital's valets and security guards.
Acıbadem residents, including women and the elderly, who have been trying to protect their living space for months, were beaten and subjected to insults. A woman participating in the vigil suffered a broken arm and it was decided that she would undergo surgery.
The Acıbadem Residents Solidarity group, which organized the protest, released the following statement on their social media account:
Attack on protesters opposing parking lot construction in front of Fahrettin Koca's hospital pic.twitter.com/Ot2cGzCUM6
— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) October 5, 2024
"We were beaten by Medipol Hospital's valets! A female friend of ours has a fracture in her arm and it was put in a cast at the hospital. Acıbadem residents, who were protecting the highway embankment area that the IMM failed to protect from Medipol, were subjected to violence! Announced to the public."
We were beaten by Medipol Hospital's valets! A female friend of ours has a fracture in her arm and it was put in a cast at the hospital. Acıbadem residents, who were protecting the highway embankment area that the IMM failed to protect from Medipol, were subjected to violence! Announced to the public.#ibbranttanyanaolma pic.twitter.com/hpXiT0kIeX
— Acıbadem Sakinleri Dayanışması (@acbdmsknlr) October 3, 2024
News Source: 12punto
