Istanbul City Hall to Pay $37 Million to Surp Agop Armenian Hospital Foundation

ISTANBUL — The Istanbul City Hall will pay 111,850,000 Turkish lira (about $37,280,000) to the Surp Agop Armenian Hospital Foundation for the 4,474 sq km area belonging to the Armenian cemetery in Istanbul, Ermenihaber.am reports.

The Foundation had filed a suit two years ago. The First Instance Court of Istanbul obliged the City Hall to pay 111,850,000 Turkish lira, equal to the sum the area cost two years ago. The Court also ruled that some percentages of the sum should be paid to the Armenian foundation for the last two years.

According to Turkish cadastral records, an area of 41,430 sq km had been used as an Armenian cemetery since 1936. The land was seized by the state in 1971. The municipal authorities used 4.47 sq km of the land to build roads, underground passages and pavements.

Later on, under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to return the real estate belonging to national minorities to their rightful owners, the land was returned to the Surp Agop Armenian Hospital foundation without the 4.474 sq km piece used for roads and passages.