A group of diplomats and staff from the Kuwait Embassy in Ankara beat a Turkish pilot in the capital on Thursday.
Four Kuwaiti diplomats removed Lt. Col. Hakan Karaku? from his car and beat him in front of his wife. The couple was taking their 6-day-old baby to the hospital for a vaccination when they were hassled by the diplomatic vehicle with the number plate 06 CD 3596, Today’s Zaman reported.
Karaku?, an F-16 pilot working with NATO, was rescued by passersby on the street who made three of the four Kuwaitis flee and one take refuge in a nearby bank on Turan Güne? Boulevard. Due to the growing frustration of the crowd the diplomat was only able to leave the bank accompanied by police. The Kuwaiti diplomat, Amad Ali Almohaid, was taken to the police station amid protesters who lambasted the police for protecting the attackers.
A witness alleged that the Kuwaitis tried to kill the Turkish pilot and punched him in the face. According to him, the attacker who had taken refuge in the bank claimed diplomatic immunity and called the police from the bank. “Nobody was disrespectful to them,” the witness said as he urged the authorities to punish the attackers. He was frustrated that the wounded pilot was on the pavement while the diplomat enjoyed air conditioning in the bank.
The wounded pilot was taken to a hospital following the incident, which was recorded by one of the security cameras of a nearby store.
As two of the attackers were questioned at the police station, one of them was identified as the Kuwaiti military attaché, Adel Ahmad Almunawer.
Lt. Col. Karakuş is in Turkey for the birth of his child although he is normally deployed abroad. Karaku? received an injury report from the hospital and filed a complaint against the Kuwaiti diplomats. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested that the Kuwaiti Embassy investigate the incident.
