WASHINGTON (A.W.)—Charges against 11 of the 15 members of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security team accused of beating peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C. last May, have been dropped.
A screenshot from a video of the attack, captured by Voice of America’s Turkish service (Photo: Voice of America)
Nine people were taken to the hospital and two others were arrested after the violent attack, on May 16, which targeted demonstrators gathered in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence, protesting Erdogan’s official visit to the U.S.
During a press conference a month following the attack, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham announced that arrest warrants had been issued for the arrest of 12 members of the security detail for their attack.
A day earlier, on June 14, U.S. Marshals arrested two Turkish men—Eyup Yildirim—an owner of a construction company in New Jersey—and Sinan Narin—a Virginia resident—in connection with the attack. Two months later, a grand jury in the U.S. capital issued indictments against a total of 19 people—including the 15 security members.
“Erdogan sends his thugs to attack Americans on U.S. soil. It’s documented on CNN and news outlets across the U.S. Yet he’s allowed to bully and bribe away charges for these crimes, just as Turkey’s done for a century and more, starting with the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, in comments to the Armenian Weekly. “It’s appeasement—abject, craven, appeasement of a foreign dictator at the expense of our American freedoms,” Hamparian added.
Last November, prosecutors appealed to a judge to drop the charges against four of Erdogan’s security members. Charges against seven others were dropped last month, when then-U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveled to Turkey to meet Erdogan and other Turkish government officials.
In comments to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials said that the prosecutors in the case were not pressured to drop the charges. According to them, investigators had misidentified some suspects and had insufficient evidence on some of the others involved.
The Armenian Weekly will be following the story and provide updates as they become available.
The post Charges Dropped against 11 Members of Erdogan’s Security Team Accused of Beating Peaceful U.S. Protesters appeared first on The Armenian Weekly.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Charges Dropped against 11 Members of Erdogan’s Security Team Accused of Beating Peaceful U.S. Protesters