USA | Turkey has no immunity in attacks on Kurdish protesters – VIDEO

Defence Redefined

10/03/2021

The US Department of Justice, in cooperation with the State Department and the Secret Police, submitted their joint views to the Washington District Court stating that Turkey does not meet the criteria of immunity provided by the “Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act” (FSIA) regarding the incidents that occurred during President Erdogan’s visit to the US capital in 2017.

It is recalled that the Turkish president’s security guards had attacked and violently beat peaceful protesters in Sheridan Square and then got involved in fights with US secret police staff.

At first instance, the Washington District Court ruled that the immunity criteria were not met.

The Turkish side, however, appealed with the main argument that the specific actions were taken for the president’s security.

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Given that the case concerned the involvement of a foreign government, the judges sought the views of the three relevant government departments (Ministry of Justice, State Department, Secret Police).

However, the joint views conclude that the acts in question were not carried out for the protection of the Turkish President and therefore do not meet the immunity criteria provided by the relevant provisions of the law.

It is recalled that the leaders of the Parliamentary and Senate Foreign Relations Committees had earlier sent a letter to Foreign Minister, Anthony Blinken, asking him to clarify that Turkey does not have immunity under the “Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act” (FSIA).

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Watch the video of clashes between the Turkish president’s security forces and Kurdish protesters in Washington in May 2017.