Lt. Col. Hakan Karakuş, a pilot working for NATO, was allegedly beaten by Kuwaiti Embassy Attaché Amad Ali Almohaid and his driver after a quarrel in traffic.
The driver, identified as Salahaddin A., was sent to the courthouse following the incident, on charges of “deliberately injuring someone.” He was released on probation by Ankara’s Fourth Criminal Court of Peace after denying beating the pilot. As per the probation, the driver has been obliged to report to the police station each Friday to give his signature.
The prosecutors’ office appealed after an official complaint was filed by Karakuş. The driver also objected, via his lawyer, to the court’s probation decision.
The Ankara Court is expected to evaluate the appeal from both sides.
Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdullah Abdulaziz al-Duwaikh expressed confidence in his diplomat’s innocence over the Sept. 11 incident, warning that deporting the diplomat prior to a court ruling would negatively affect his country’s investments in Turkey.
Karakuş, who is the son-in-law of Turkish Air Force General Akın Öztürk, received a medical report in which doctors determined he could not work for 20 days. Karakuş and his wife had been taking their six-day-old baby to the hospital for a vaccination when the incident occurred.
