On Sept. 10, Lt. Col. Hakan Karakus, a Turkish F-16 pilot with NATO, and his wife were taking their 6-day-old baby to the hospital for vaccination. As they drove down a busy street in Ankara, a Kuwaiti Embassy car carrying the military attaché passed by, dangerously close. Karakus honked his horn and then stopped to check whether his car had sustained any damage. As soon as he got out, a furious quarrel erupted. Three men from the Kuwaiti car pinned Karakus to the ground and beat him up. As passersby took on the assailants, the bloodied pilot was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The military attaché took refuge in a nearby bank, while the other embassy staff managed to escape.
The incident was soon on television bulletins and demonstrations were held outside the Kuwaiti Embassy. The Turkish General Staff issued a statement condemning the assault, while the Foreign Ministry summoned embassy officials for explanations while Ambassador Abdullah Abdulazeez Al-Duwaikh was out of town.
It turned out the pilot is married to the daughter of Turkish air force commander Gen. Akin Ozturk. Referring to the passersby who helped his son-in-law in the incident, the general said: “Had they not intervened, we might have faced a much more grievous outcome. This is nothing but using diplomatic immunity as a shield for roughneck behavior. I suppose the necessary action will be taken, which may go as far as their expulsion.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed his sympathy to Ozturk.
The police recorded the brawl as an incident of “deliberate injury” and “damage to property.” The Kuwaiti ambassador initially said he would “take the necessary action,” but changed his tune a few days later. In an interview with Hurriyet Daily News, Al-Duwaikh warned that deporting the military attaché without a court ruling might lead to the withdrawal of Kuwaiti investments from Turkey. “If anybody hears that this man is deported without court decision, then they will become afraid and will leave Turkey because they won’t trust Turkey after this incident. So it will affect everything,” Al-Duwaikh warned.
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.
