US Supreme Court rejects Turkey's bid to dismiss two lawsuits over 2017 Washington protests

The United States Supreme Court rejected to hear Turkey’s bid to dismiss two lawsuits filed against them by protesters from the 2017 demonstrations in Washington. The protesters who filed the suit accused Turkish security forces of injuring them in the protests that year.

The high court declined to hear Turkey’s appeal to dismiss the two lawsuits Monday filed against them by protesters from the 2017 demonstrations in Washington. At the time, the protesters alleged that they were injured by Turkish security forces during the visit of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The justices declined to hear the appeal by Ankara on the lower court rulings allowing the lawsuits to proceed, rejecting Turkey’s argument of having immunity over such legal action in the US under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

The issue at hand involved members of Erdogan’s security detail clashing with some protesters during the 2017 demonstrations. The incident has since strained relations between the United States and Turkey. Turkey has blamed the clash on the protesters linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

The Biden administration has urged the Supreme Court not to hear Turkey’s appeal to dismiss the lawsuits, citing that when foreign security personnel use force in a manner that is unrelated to protecting the officials from harm, they are acting outside their legal protections.

The lower courts have since ruled against Turkey when Ankara sought to appeal. The US Court of Appeals in the DC Circuit back in 2021 ruled that while members of the Turkish security detail were within their rights to protect Erdogan, their actions did not meet the exception.

On the same day, the Conservative-majority of the Supreme Court also signaled skepticism on the legality of race-conscious admissions policies in cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina that may make affirmative action programs used to boost Black and Hispanic students vulnerable.

The Supreme Court heard five hours of arguments by the group founded by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum of the lower court rulings that upheld the policies used by the two universities to promote diversity. The rulings are due by the end of June, with the three Liberal justices backing the limited use of race in admissions.