Irish boxer single-handedly takes on mob in IstanbulVideo Grab A video purporting to show an Irish tourist in a mass brawl with shopkeepers in Istanbul is taking Turkish social media by storm.Video Grab Dobbous has now being hailed as a hero for fighting the mob in IstanbulVideo Grab Mohammed Fadel Dobbous, a Kuwait-born Irish national told Turkey's Show TV that he was "shocked" the incident escalated so quickly after he accidentally spilled some bottles of water from a drinks cabinet.Video Grab Istanbul shopkeepers are not much liked in Turkey for siding with the conservative government under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.Video Grab
An Irish tourist became a social media hero in Turkey after a video of him taking on an angry mob single-handely in Istanbul went viral. The video, which has been shared by thousands of users on Twitter and Facebook, shows the tourist, who is also a professional boxer, single-handedly taking on a mob in Istanbul.
The footage shows at least 15 shopkeepers attacking Mohammed Fadel Dobbous, a Kuwait-born Irish national, after he accidentally knocked down several bottles of water. It shows shopkeepers hitting him with sticks and chairs, while others trying to break up the fight.
The incident is believed to have taken place on 1 August. However, the CCTV video went viral after Turkish news media - Haberturk TV - broadcasted it on 25 August.
Dobbous, however, single-handedly fought off several of them, before he was led away. He later told local media channels that he had gone back to apologise, but despite that he was attacked, The Independent reported.
Irish tourist (a boxer) who beat up a herd of shopkeeper jackals in Istanbul has gained much sympathy from many Turks, including me.
— Candan Badem (@CandanBadem) August 25, 2015
Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a popular Turkish columnist, in an editorial noted that Dobbous has become a local hero, because the general public in Turkey have been waiting for such an occasion. The editorial noted that the shopkeepers were asked by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to act as the police, to maintain order.
The editorial also claimed that the Turkish public knows that during the Gerzi Park protests in 2013, shopkeepers attacked protestors. "We know Ali Ismail Korkmaz, a university student was killed in Eskisehir by a mob consisting of police and shopkeepers," Cengiz wrote.
Hence when one man stood up against "the shopkeepers" the locals hailed him as their hero.
