U. S. prosecutors say they have dismissed all charges stemming from a brawl in Washington last year in which protesters were beaten.
WASHINGTON — U. S. prosecutors say they have dismissed all criminal charges against seven of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bodyguards stemming from a brawl in Washington last year in which protesters were beaten.
The charges were dropped last month just one day ahead of a meeting between Erdogan and now-outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson but the State Department says the timing was coincidental.
Prosecutors said Thursday they had dropped the charges against the seven on Feb. 14 after dropping charges against four others in November.
Assault charges are still pending against four other members of Erdogan’s security detail, they said.
Tillerson met with Erdogan on Feb. 15 in a bid to improve badly strained U. S.-Turkish relations.
The State Department said it was not involved in the decision to drop the charges.
