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Brawl lawsuits against Turkey raise questions of law, diplomacy

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An altercation in Washington on May 16,2017, that led to criminal charges against some of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security officers and civilian supporters also spurred lawsuits that turn on the question of whether a foreign country can be held responsible in American courts for violence done on its behalf.
WASHINGTON — Turkey’s leader spoke of cooperation with the U. S. during a White House visit two years ago with President Donald Trump, but by day’s end, the warm rhetoric had been overshadowed by a violent brawl outside the Turkish Embassy that left anti-government demonstrators badly beaten.
That altercation on May 16,2017, led to criminal charges against some of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security officers and civilian supporters. It also spurred lawsuits, now winding their way through federal court, that turn on the question of whether a foreign country can be held responsible in American courts for violence done on its behalf.
One suit goes further, saying the violence meets the legal definition of international terrorism because it was designed to coerce and intimidate a civilian population.
“Nobody expects that security forces from a foreign government will come over and beat them to a pulp, and that’s the part that’s really crazy,” Agnieszka Fryszman, a lawyer for the injured demonstrators, said in an interview.
The suits have diplomatic implications and raise questions about how much legal protection should be extended to the people who protect international leaders from raucous demonstrations when they travel abroad. The legal cases are unfolding as the NATO allies are at odds over a number of issues, including what role Turkey will play in northern Syria as American forces withdraw. The U. S. also has warned Turkey against proceeding with its purchase of an advanced Russian air defense system; the deal, if completed, could incur U. S. sanctions
Turkey has signaled it will argue that as a sovereign nation, it is immune from being sued, a position that sets the stage for legal and geopolitical wrangling.

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