US blocks weapons sales to Turkish president's security guards
The US Senate on Monday voted to block the sale of $1.2-million (1-million-euros) worth of arms to Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan's personal security guards, finding that such a deal would have effectively endorsed "their history of excessive force," Deutsche Welle reported.
The decision comes as 15 members of Erdogan's security detail face assault charges in the US in connection with last May's attack on mainly Kurdish protesters outside the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington. The assault, which took place in broad daylight, was caught on camera and widely shared online and in the media. None of Erdogan's personnel has responded to a US grand jury's call for a trial.
The source added Monday's vote also coincided with Erdogan's arrival in New York for the UN General Assembly, his first visit to the US since the assaults last spring.
Patrick Leahy and Chris Van Hollen, the Democratic senators who proposed the legislation, said US firearms manufacturers should also stop selling weapons to units of the Turkish National Police "that have been arbitrarily arresting and abusing Turkish citizens who peacefully criticize the government."
To remind, earlier a grand jury in the U.S. capital issued on Thursday indictments against 19 people, including 15 members of Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan’s security detail, for their brutal attack against peaceful protesters gathered in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., on May 16.
All 19 defendants were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence, with a bias crime enhancement—charges of hate crimes—which carry a maximum 15 years’ prison sentence. Many were indicted on additional charges.
Eleven people were hurt in what Washington’s police chief described as a brutal attack on peaceful protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence during Erdogan’s visit.