US: Recommendation to Supreme Court to try Turkey for attack on protesters by Erdogan’s bodyguards

Very close to the final end are the continuous appeals filed by the Turkish government with the aim of overturning the decisions taken by the American judiciary on the violence that had been manifested against protesters in Washington. It is recalled that in 2017, his security men Recep Tayyip Erdogan they had attacked and violently beaten peaceful protesters outside his residence Turkish ambassador and were subsequently involved in skirmishes with American secret police personnel.

The Turkish side had appealed to the Supreme Courtas he had sought review of decisions by both the U.S. District Court in Washington and the Court of Appeals, which had ruled that violence by the Turkish president’s security personnel did not require immunity and therefore that U.S. courts had the necessary jurisdiction to adjudicate the actions that have been brought.

However, the US Govt categorically rejected the basis of Turkey’s legal argument and suggested to the Supreme Court through its legal representative (solicitor general) to reject this request and thus open the way for the trial of the case. It is worth noting that according to legal circles today’s opinion of the legal representative is considered to play a decisive role and to be taken seriously by the Supreme Court, which is expected to issue its final decision soon.

In her reasoning for her decision, US legal representative Elizabeth Prelogkar notes that “the facts found by the District Court and accepted by the US Court of Appeals demonstrate that Turkish security personnel used force that exceeded any notion of protective of its operation. Therefore, the use of force is not protected by the FSIA (Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act) exemption.” In this light, the legal representative argues that the Court of Appeal reached the correct conclusion and therefore its decision does not warrant a review by the Supreme Court.

Continuing her reasoning, the legal representative refuted yet another additional argument of the Turkish side, which argued that such a decision would have negative consequences for the international relations of the United States. However, the spokeswoman determined that this assessment is incorrect, as she emphasized “the United States values ​​its relationship with Turkey, a NATO ally, and has a primary interest in protecting its diplomats and senior officials traveling abroad. However, the decision does not undermine these interests. The decision is consistent with other decisions in which US courts have held that foreign states are not entitled to sovereign immunity for torts involving the use of force in the United States.”

If the Supreme Court ultimately adopts the decision of the US legal representative, Elizabeth Prelogar, and rejects the Turkish government’s appeal, this will practically mean that the case will go to trial as normal, since Turkey will have exhausted all available legislative tools to reversal of previous decisions. The expatriate lawyer Andreas Akaras has undertaken the legal representation of the protesters against the Turkish government.

The Background of the Case

The lawsuit was filed by American citizens against not natural persons but against the Turkish state. For its part, Turkey argued that it needs immunity and therefore the specific incident cannot be brought before the Washington District Court.

At first instance level, the District Court had ruled that the criteria for immunity were not met. The Turkish side, however, appealed with the main argument that the specific actions were taken for reasons of protection of the president, who was on the steps of the embassy residence. Given that the case involved the involvement of a foreign government, the judges sought the opinion of the three competent government agencies (Ministry of Justice, State Department, Secret Police).

This was followed by the joint opinion filed by memorandum in the District Court of Washington. In this text, the US Department of Justice in collaboration with the State Department and the Secret Service concluded that Turkey does not meet the criteria for immunity provided for in the “Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act” (FSIA). Justifying their rationale, the three agencies argued that the acts in question were not done for reasons of protection of the Turkish president and therefore do not enjoy the immunity provided by the relevant provisions of the law.

It is worth noting that leaders from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken asking him to clarify that Turkey does not have immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. (FSIA).

Washington Court of Appeals’ Final Ruling Takes Turkey to the Supreme Court

In a final and unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals of the city of Washington rejected Turkey’s request for a review of the decision it had taken on the violence that had occurred against Kurdish protesters. It is recalled that in 2017, the security men of Recep Tayyip Erdogan had attacked and violently beat peaceful protesters who were outside the residence of the Turkish ambassador and had then been involved in skirmishes with the personnel of the American secret police.

At the trial level, the Washington District Court had ruled that the criteria for immunity were not met. Then, after Turkey appealed, the three judges of the Court of Appeal who heard the case came to the same conclusion. However, the neighboring country decided to exhaust all legal tools at its disposal, asking all 10 judges of the Court of Appeal to review the decision. However, he had no luck this time either, and now the rejection of the specific request means that the appeal to the Supreme Court is the only way for Turkey.

Expressing his satisfaction, the expatriate lawyer Andreas Akaras had stated to APE-MPE that “the rejection of the said request is another blow to the efforts made by Turkey to avoid the responsibility it bears for the shameful actions of Mr. Erdogan and of his bodyguards”.

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