— Prosecutors Agree to Drop Multiple Bias and Hate Crimes Charges; Sentencing Set for March 15th
WASHINGTON, DC — Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian, a witness to the May 16th Erdogan-ordered attacks on peaceful protesters in Washington, DC, sharply criticized a plea agreement to drop multiple hate and bias charges against two of the assailants in return for a guilty plea and one year of imprisonment.
“A proposed one year sentence for a brutal, unapologetic foreign government directed assault against Americans on U.S. soil is an absolute travesty,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “The Erdogan-ordered attack wasn’t just a violent hate crime against Americans but an open assault on American values. This sentence, if approved by the court, will effectively serve as a green light to Erdogan and other foreign dictators intent on exporting their violence to American shores.”
Hamparian and representatives of the Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights (ALC) were on hand at District of Columbia Superior Court when the plea deal was registered for Eyup Yildirim and Sinan Narin, two of the 19 perpetrators indicted for the brutal beatings, which included 15 members of Turkish President Erdogan’s security detail, and two Canadians, who have reportedly since repatriated to Turkey. 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. The plea deal would remove the hate-crimes component of the charges, which have been reduced to one charge of assault.
The final sentencing, to be issued by DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo, is set March 15th at 10:00am.
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian was videotaping live at the scene of the May 16th attack, which took place in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence where President Erdogan was scheduled to have a closed-door meeting with think tank leaders. Hamparian’s video showed pro-Erdogan forces crossing a police line and beating peaceful protesters – elderly men and several women – who were on the ground bleeding during most of the attack.
Hamparian testified before a May 25th Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on this matter. Joining him at the hearing were Ms. Lusik Usoyan, Founder and President of the Ezidi Relief Fund; Mr. Murat Yusa, a local businessman and protest organizer; and Ms. Ruth Wedgwood, Edward B. Burling Professor of International Law and Diplomacy, at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Usoyan and Yusa were victims of the brutal assault on May 16th by President Erdogan’s bodyguards.
On June 6th, with a vote of 397 to 0, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously condemned Turkey in response to the attacks, taking a powerful stand against Ankara’s attempts to export its violence and intolerance to America’s shores. H.Res.354, spearheaded by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), has received the public backing of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). On July 14th, the U.S. House also unanimously adopted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Bill, championed by Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman David Trott (R-MI), raising objections to a proposed U.S. sale of handguns for use by the very Erdogan security detail involved in the May 16th attack.
On July 19th, senior members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Ted Poe (R-TX), Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Co-Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Representatives Jim Costa (D-CA) and John Sarbanes (D-MD) condemned Turkish President Erdogan’s violent actions – both in Turkey and the U.S. – during “A Stand for Free Speech” held at the site of the May 16th attacks. The press conference and rally was organized by the ANCA, in coordination with the Sheridan Circle May 16 Initiative (including many victims of the beatings), and a host of Kurdish, Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, and Christian groups including the American Kurdish Association (AKA), In Defense of Christians, American Hellenic Council, Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights, A Demand for Action, Hellenic American Leadership Council, AHEPA, and the Armenian Youth Federation.
The May 16th protest in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence was a continuation of a demonstration held earlier in the day in front of the White House, co-hosted by the ANCA. As President Trump met with President Erdogan. human rights and religious rights groups were joined by representatives of the Kurdish, Yezidi and Armenian communities to call attention to the Erdogan regime’s escalating repression against free press, the Kurdish and other ethnic communities, as well as Turkey’s ongoing obstruction of justice for the Armenian Genocide.
Erdogan Supporters Plead Guilty For Roles In Attacks On Peaceful Protesters
(THE DAILY CALLER) Two Turkish-American men who took part in attacks on peaceful protesters outside of the Turkish ambassador’s residence earlier this year have pleaded guilty in a Washington, D.C. court.
Eyup Yildirim and Sinan Narin accepted guilty pleas in exchange for dropping hate crime charges for their roles in the attacks, which occurred on May 16.
The pair, who face one-year jail sentences as part of their plea deals, were captured on video along with a group of supporters and bodyguards for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacking a small group of Yazidi, Armenian and Kurdish protesters.
Yildirim, the owner of a New Jersey construction company, was seen on video kicking a woman as she laid curled up on the ground. Narin, who lives in Virginia, was also recorded assaulting the protesters.
The attack sparked a diplomatic standoff between the Turkish and American governments. Turkish officials claimed that indictments handed down in the case were politically motivated. They also claimed that U.S. Secret Service and Washington, D.C. police failed to protect Erdogan, who watched the beatings unfold from near the entrance to the ambassador’s residence.
Erdogan may also have directly ordered the attacks. Video showed Erdogan speaking with his personal bodyguard moments before he relayed instructions to the attackers. The protesters — who numbered fewer than two dozen — had gathered at the ambassador’s residence to protest against Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian policies. (RELATED: Audio Analysis: Erdogan Goons Were Instructed To ‘Attack’ Peaceful Protesters)
In addition to Yildirim and Narin, 17 others were indicted for their role in the attacks. Two Turkish-Canadian supporters of Erdogan were indicted along with 15 members of Erdogan’s security detail, including the dictator’s closest bodyguards. (RELATED: Video Shows Erdogan Calmly Watching Bodyguards Attack Protesters)
Aram Hamparian, an Armenian activist who witnessed the brutal assault, blasted Thursday’s plea deal.
“A proposed one year sentence for a brutal, unapologetic foreign government directed assault against Americans on U.S. soil is an absolute travesty,” Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of American, said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Erdogan-ordered attack wasn’t just a violent hate crime against Americans but an open assault on American values. This sentence, if approved by the court, will effectively serve as a green light to Erdogan and other foreign dictators intent on exporting their violence to American shores.”
Hamparian recorded video of the May 16 protest. He also helped two of the people attacked by Erdogan’s henchmen.
One of the women Hamparian helped was Lucy Usoyan, the president of the Ezidi Relief Fund. Usoyan was seen on video being kicked in the back and head by Yildirim. She identified Yildirim to The Daily Caller earlier this year. Usoyan said that she suffered head trauma from the assault. (RELATED: Meet The Erdogan Goon Who Brutally Assaulted A Woman In Washington, D.C.)
When TheDC contacted Yildirim back in May, he denied knowing anything of the attacks. He and Narin were arrested in June by U.S. Marshals. They will be sentenced in Washington, D.C. on March 15.
Chuck Ross
Հայ Դատը Կը Դատապարտէ Էրտողանի Հրահրած Յարձակումի Մասնակիցներուն Պատիժը Մեղմացնելու Առաջարկը
(ԱՍՊԱՐԷԶ) ՈՒԱՇԻՆԿԹԸՆ.- Ամերիկայի Հայ Դատի յանձնախումբի գործադիր վարիչ Արամ Համբարեան, որ ականատես մըն էր Մայիս 16ին, մայրաքաղաք Ուաշինկթընի մէջ Թուրքիոյ նախագահ Ռեչեփ Թայիփ Էրտողանի հրահանգով տեղի ունեցած խաղաղ ցուցարարներու վրայ յարձակումին, խստօրէն քննադատեց յարձակումի երկու մասնակիցներուն հետ դատախազութեան գոյացուցած նախնական համաձայնութիւնը, որուն իբրեւ հետեւանք կրնան մեղմանալ անոնց պատիժները։
Արդարեւ, յարձակումը ատելութեան հիման վրայ կատարուած ըլլալու ամբաստանութիւնը վերացնելով՝ իրենց յանցանքը ընդունած այդ ամբաստանեալները կրնան միայն մէկ տարուան բանտարկութեան դատապարտուիլ։
«Նման վայրագ եւ ամբարտաւանօրէն իր յանցանքը չընդունող օտար կառավարութեան մը առաջնորդութեամբ՝ ամերիկեան հողին վրայ եւ ամերիկացիներու դէմ տեղի ունեցած յարձակումի մը համար մէկ տարուան բանտարկութեան պատիժը կատարեա՛լ ծաղրանք պիտի ըլլայ մեր արդարութեան համակարգին», յայտարարեց Համբարեան՝ աւելցնելով, որ տեղի ունեցածը ամերիկացիներուն դէմ ատելութեան յստակ դրսեւորում մըն էր եւ հարուած մը՝ ամերիկեան արժէքներուն հասցէագրուած։
«Եթէ նման վճիռ մը արձակուի, ապա արտօնութիւն տուած պիտի ըլլանք Էրտողանին եւ այլ օտար մենատէրերու, որ իրենց բռնարարքները դէպի ամերիկեան հողեր արտածեն», աւելցուց Համբարեան՝ յիշեցնելով, որ ամբաստանեալները կրնային մինչեւ 15 տարուան բանտարկութեան դատապարտուիլ իրենց բարբարոսային յարձակումներուն համար։
Նշենք, որ դատավճիռը պիտի արձակուի Մարտ 15ին։