The private security detail of Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday beat up protesters who have allegedly caused a disturbance during a gathering in New York City at which Erdoğan was giving a speech.
Some protesters had unfurled banners during an event organized by the Turkish American Steering Committee (TASC) at the New York Marriott Marquis hotel while President Erdoğan was addressing the crowd.
A short-lived disturbance erupted in the hall, with the protesters removed by Erdoğan’s security detail. Video footage shows the guards beating the demonstrators as they were taken from the hall.
After the protesters were taken out, Erdoğan said, “Let’s not give this gathering to a few impertinent hall terrorists,” while trying to calm his supporters in the hall.
Erdoğan appeared at the TASC meeting to sign an agreement to launch the US branch of the Turkish Green Crescent Society.
On May 16, 2017 Erdoğan’s security detail had been caught in video footage viciously beating up protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., during an official visit to the US. Fifteen of his bodyguards have been indicted and are wanted by US authorities to stand trial.
In 2016, supporters and members of Erdoğan’s security detail had violently clashed with protesters and members of the media at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
And in 2011, security officers accompanying Erdoğan were involved in a brawl with United Nations security staff as the president tried to enter the hall to listen to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speak. (turkishminute.com)
