Turkish pilot assaulted by Kuwaiti embassy officials in Ankara

Uğur Ergan – Fevzi Kızılkoyun ANKARA

The F-16 fighter jet pilot, Hakan Karakuş, who works at NATO, was in Ankara on paternal leave. DHA Photo

A Turkish Air Force pilot was seriously assaulted in broad daylight Sept. 11 by a Kuwaiti diplomat and embassy officials after a quarrel on Ankara streets.

The F-16 fighter jet pilot, Hakan Karakuş, who works at NATO, was in Ankara on paternity leave. When he was assaulted, he was on his way to a healthcare center in the Çankaya district of Ankara with his wife and his six-month-old baby, so that the latter could be vaccinated.

The car belonging to the Kuwaiti Embassy carried alleged Kuwaiti Military attaché Emad Ali A., Kuwaiti diplomat Adel Ahmad A., and Turkish driver Selahattin A.

The embassy’s car reportedly turned sharply in front of Karakuş’s car, to which Karakuş reacted by blowing his car horn. After this, the diplomats and driver got out of the embassy’s car and told Karakuş that they had the right of the way. After the row escalated, the three men started to beat up Karakuş on the street.

The Kuwaiti Embassy officials kicked the pilot in the head several times, according to eyewitnesses.
Several people who saw the incident attempted to protect Karakuş, and as the crowd grew the three embassy officials ran away, while the Kuwaiti attaché took shelter in a nearby bank.

The police arrived at the scene and took the necessary security measures so the diplomat would be protected. He was later taken to the police station for questioning. 

“There were two people in the embassy car, not four. If our diplomat hit him, then it’s me who is responsible; but he says he didn’t touch him. We trust the laws of this country. We have evidence and we trust it. We can show photographs and evidence to the Foreign Ministry, if needed,” Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdulaziz Al-Duwaik said in a statement on Sept. 11.

Karakuş, who is the son-in-law of Turkish Air Force General Akın Öztürk, was taken to hospital at the Gülhane Military Medical Faculty.

Emad Ali A. was not detained by the police after he said he had diplomatic immunity, and he was taken to the embassy after the incident.

Karakuş received a medical report, in which doctors said he could not work for 20 days. He complained about the attackers in a testimony to military officers, but did not give a testimony to the police as he is an active duty soldier. The Turkish General Staff have contacted the Foreign Ministry and demanded that “all measures be taken” against the diplomat, including deportation.