Police in the nation’s capital say diplomatic immunity won’t keep them from investigating a “brutal attack” on “peaceful protesters” Tuesday by men believed to be bodyguards for visiting Turkish President Recep Erdogan.
Four international law experts, three of them former legal advisers at the State Department, tell U.S. News that if police identify the assailants, they may be able to make criminal charges stick, even if the men are on the Turkish government payroll.
Footage from the melee shows men mostly in suits, some reportedly armed, bypassing police officers separating pro- and anti-Erdogan activists. The men physically attack a group of protesters in Sheridan Circle near the Turkish Embassy, repeatedly kicking some.
A police officer and 11 other people were injured, authorities say, including one critically. The protest group included Armenian and Kurdish activists opposed to Erdogan, two of whom were arrested in the immediate aftermath. One was charged with aggravated assault and the other with assaulting an officer.
More:
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-05-17/erdogan-guards-might-not-have-immunity-to-beat-protesters-in-us
