Soylu advises local authorities to ignore court rulings when demolishing derelict buildings

Turkey's Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Oct. 26 that derelict buildings can be demolished without court orders. "You can demolish it overnight, a court ruling will be issued afterwards," he said.

Wednesday October 27 2021 02:58 pm

Duvar English

Turkey's Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that derelict buildings should be demolished without the necessity of court rulings while speaking at a convention for neighborhood heads - mukhtars - on Oct. 26.

"You can demolish it overnight, a court ruling will be issued afterwards. People use drugs in these buildings as long as they stand. There's crime in these buildings. A construction machine should just come and demolish it at night, how are we supposed to know who took it down?" Soylu said.

The government demolished more than 75,000 of 110,000 derelict buildings, and that over 15,000 were renovated, the minister said.

Empty buildings facilitate drug use, the minister said and encouraged the mukhtars to "be brave" about the war on drugs, adding that Ankara has made great progress on combatting illegal substance use.

The interior minister also slammed the 10 ambassadors who called for the release of jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, saying that Turkey is a strong country that couldn't be "governed by foreign currency exchange rates or ambassadors."