Kuwaiti Diplomat Not Declared Persona Non Grata

Ankara has called on Kuwait to withdraw Kuwaiti Embassy Attaché Amad Ali Almohaid, who allegedly attacked a Turkish pilot last month, instead of declaring him persona non grata.

According to reports circulating in the media, a number of Kuwaiti diplomats who were traveling in a vehicle with diplomatic plates last month in Ankara got out of their car in the middle of traffic, removed Lt. Col. Hakan Karakuş from his car and assaulted him. Karakuş is an F-16 pilot working with NATO.

Local pedestrians intervened in the fight, forcing three of the four Kuwaitis to flee and one to take refuge in a nearby bank. Almohaid, who had fled to the bank, was taken to the police station while a crowd gathered outside the bank and heckled the police for protecting the attackers.

The reports said Almohaid left Turkey after the Foreign Ministry asked Kuwait to withdraw him. Diplomatic sources have told Today's Zaman that Almohaid left on annual leave.

The General Staff strongly condemned the diplomats last month, while the Foreign Ministry stated that the public would be informed of any developments related to the incident.

In previous remarks to the Hürriyet daily, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Turkey Abdullah Abdulaziz al-Duwaikh suggested that Kuwait might withdraw investments from the country if any of the diplomats are deported without a court decision.

“We have a lot of investments here in Turkey. If anybody hears that this man has been deported without a court decision, then they will become afraid and leave Turkey, because they won't trust Turkey after this incident. So it will affect everything,” al-Duwaikh was quoted as saying by the daily.

Servet Yanatma (Cihan/Today's Zaman)