October 5, 2015 - 15:30 AMT
Istanbul Municipality to pay for confiscation of Armenian cemetery

Istanbul Municipality will pay 111,850,000 Turkish liras (over $37 million) to Surp Agop Armenian Hospital's foundation for the 4,474 square meters of land belonging to Istanbul's Armenian cemetery, Ermenihaber.am reports.

Surp Agop Hospital's foundation applied to the Turkish court 2 years ago.

According to Turkish cadastral registers, some 41,430 square meters of land served as the Armenian cemetery in Istanbul since 1936. The land was confiscated by the Turkish state in 1971, with the 4,474 square meters of land, belonging to the Armenian cemetery, used for construction of roads, underground passages and sidewalks.

The land was later returned to Surp Agop Hospital's foundation under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision without those 4,474 square meters of land, already used for road construction.