# Can interpol arrest erdogans bodyguards for crimes committed in the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979 "2017-09-22T15:46:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/1 "2017-09-22T15:46:07Z")
I know they commit horrible crimes at home, but turkey sure as hell isn’t going to hold them accountable for that. With erdogans (turkeys dictator) bodyguards assaulting Americans on multiple occasions, if those guards go to another nation like Germany, Canada, UK, France, etc can they be held and extradited to the US to face charges? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/2 "2017-09-22T15:51:01Z")
AIUI, they were diplomatic personnel who held diplomatic immunity. After the beatdown, the US declared them _persona non grata_ and ordered them to leave the country, all of which probably means Turkey wasn’t willing to revoke their DI status (revocation happens from time to time, e.g. I recall a case where a Russian diplomatic killed someone while driving drunk, we asked Russia to revoke his immunity so we could charge him, and they agreed). We don’t want them brought back to the US because we can’t charge them. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/3 "2017-09-22T16:00:13Z")
I don’t understand the legal aspects but I have read the are different levels of diplomatic immunity. The bodyguards may not have the full immunity the ambassador does. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/4 "2017-09-22T16:03:52Z")
They had diplomatic immunity in the US at the time, so the US can’t charge them with anything. You can’t extradite someone if you don’t have anything valid to charge them with that is a crime in both countries, and in this case what they did would not be a crime in either country so is doubly invalid. Other countries just aren’t going to arrest people for committed a non-crime in the US, or hold them without any kind of warrant or reasonable cause, or try to extradite them when neither country involved believes they can be charged with a crime. Also Interpol doesn’t actually have arrest powers, it just issues notices recommending that various national police forces arrest a person. It’s not really sensible to talk about Interpol arresting someone because they don’t make arrests themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/5 "2017-09-22T16:09:06Z")
It seems they likely hold diplomatic immunity but it is tricky. > [@](#): > > Security officials who work for the Turkish Embassy likely hold “administrative and technical status,” which means that they are not subject to arrest or detention and enjoy immunity from criminal jurisdiction. They would be immune from civil suits as well, but only in connection with the performance of their official duties. > > The status of Erdogan’s protective detail is less clear under international law. Erdogan himself is entitled to “head of state” immunity, which gives him complete criminal and civil immunity from foreign jurisdiction while he is in office. His retinue may also be entitled to the same type of immunity, because arresting them could interfere with the president’s diplomatic mission. On the other hand, security agents are much less critical to diplomacy than the head of state, so the reasons to give them immunity are diminished. News reports reflect that when President George W. Bush visited London in 2003, the Secret Service agents traveling with him were not given diplomatic immunity. In this case, the immunity of the protective detail may depend on whether Turkey notified the State Department about the agents before their visit. > > SOURCE: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/05/18/diplomatic-immunity-protects-all-officials-even-erdogans-thugs-thats-good/?utm\_term=.1441800a72fc](https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/05/18/diplomatic-immunity-protects-all-officials-even-erdogans-thugs-thats-good/?utm_term=.1441800a72fc) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/6 "2017-09-22T16:18:35Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > You can’t extradite someone if you don’t have anything valid to charge them with that is a crime in both countries, and in this case what they did would not be a crime in either country so is doubly invalid. Other countries just aren’t going to arrest people for committed a non-crime in the US, or hold them without any kind of warrant or reasonable cause, or try to extradite them when neither country involved believes they can be charged with a crime. Huh…guess you should tell the DC police that no crime was committed. They think there was. > [@](#): > > **D.C. police issue warrant for 12 on Turkish security team in May brawl** > > A dozen security guards for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are now wanted by D.C. police, who on Thursday declared them criminal suspects and accused them of attacking peaceful protesters during a visit to Washington last month. > > \ > > Newsham read the names of each suspect to a room packed with media. Around him were placards with the word “WANTED” in red and photographs of the suspects. The men were identified, with the help of the State Department, by matching surveillance video from the fight to entry visas and passports. All are charged with various degrees of assault. > > SOURCE: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/dc-police-issue-warrant-for-12-turkish-security-personnel-involved-in-embassy-brawl/2017/06/15/4472fae6-51be-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98\_story.html?utm\_term=.d18285622572](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/dc-police-issue-warrant-for-12-turkish-security-personnel-involved-in-embassy-brawl/2017/06/15/4472fae6-51be-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html?utm_term=.d18285622572) ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/7 "2017-09-22T16:25:15Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Huh…guess you should tell the DC police that no crime was committed. They think there was. If the US claims they don’t have diplomatic immunity, which they hadn’t when I read about this, then it’s a different story - though the feds may contradict the DC police before it’s all over. If there’s no diplomatic immunity and US authorities issue a warrant, then it’s a completely different ball game than trying to arrest people who have diplomatic immunity. In that case, depending on their agreements with Turkey about the status of the bodyguards, other countries could arrest them for extradition, though I don’t know if the crimes the bodyguards are accused of are serious enough for other countries to justify an arrest. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/8 "2017-09-22T16:40:04Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > If the US claims they don’t have diplomatic immunity, which they hadn’t when I read about this, then it’s a different story - though the feds may contradict the DC police before it’s all over. If there’s no diplomatic immunity and US authorities issue a warrant, then it’s a completely different ball game than trying to arrest people who have diplomatic immunity. In that case, depending on their agreements with Turkey about the status of the bodyguards, other countries could arrest them for extradition, though I don’t know if the crimes the bodyguards are accused of are serious enough for other countries to justify an arrest. Even with immunity they can commit a crime. Immunity only means they cannot be tried for the crime unless that immunity is waived (which sometimes it is but likely would not be here). ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/9 "2017-09-22T20:07:10Z")
Take them into a private room on the jet over international waters and have the marshals give each a good beating. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/10 "2017-09-22T20:10:20Z")
Interpol can do arrests? ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/11 "2017-09-23T06:57:49Z")
I wondered what would have happened in a “stand your ground” or self defense state. What if the bodyguards started felony assaulting someone in Dallas, and several passerbys open carrying AR-15s encountering them. In Texas, it’s legal to shoot to prevent a felony. If the ‘passerbys’ pointed their guns at the bodyguards, and the bodyguards tried to draw _their_ weapons, I think the Texas boys would be in their legal right to cap em. I guess the diplomatic immunity would apply to the bodybag the bodyguards are being returned in? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/12 "2017-09-23T08:35:22Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Take them into a private room on the jet over international waters and have the marshals give each a good beating. And what would you say if another government did that to some overzealous American security guys? ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/13 "2017-09-23T08:56:22Z")
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/14 "2017-09-23T13:24:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Interpol can do arrests? No they can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/15 "2017-09-23T15:02:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Does INTERPOL send agents around the world to arrest people? > > No, the INTERPOL General Secretariat does not send officers into countries to arrest individuals. All investigations and arrests in each INTERPOL member country are carried out by the national police in accordance with national laws. Each member country has an INTERPOL National Central Bureau(NCB) which is staffed by highly-trained law enforcement officers and acts as a designated contact point for the General Secretariat and other member countries. > Any arrests are made by national law enforcement in accordance with national laws. > How do I confirm if someone is wanted by INTERPOL? > > INTERPOL does not issue arrest warrants. A member country may request the INTERPOL General Secretariat to issue a Red Notice (an international alert for a wanted person) on the basis of a valid national arrest warrant. > If INTERPOL is asked to issue a Red Notice in response to an arrest warrant, the information will be sent out to all our 190 member countries, unless otherwise indicated. > Member countries have the option of having an abridged version of the Red Notice posted on INTERPOL’s website. If no Red Notice is published, this is either because one has not been requested or issued for that person, or the requesting country has asked that it be restricted to law enforcement use only. > Requests for information about an investigation or fugitive should be directed to the country concerned. The above is from INTERPOL’s website. They don’t arrest anyone. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/16 "2017-09-23T16:02:06Z")
Note there are several CIA operatives last I heard that were still wanted in regard to a rendition in Italy where some Muslim activist (Abu Omar) was kidnapped and put on a plane back to Egypt after 9-11. in fact, IIRC, one was arrested in Portugal on her way to a family wedding. [http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/01/italy-cancels-former-cia-agents-extradition-from-portugal-in-muslim-abduction-case.html](http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/01/italy-cancels-former-cia-agents-extradition-from-portugal-in-muslim-abduction-case.html) - the US intervened, deportation to Italy was stayed, and the president of Italy gave her a partial pardon. Not much of an update available since this news. She also claims that whatever the CIA did, she was not part of the operation. And… Abu Omar was released by Egypt 4 years later, citing no grounds for detention. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/17 "2017-09-23T16:13:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Interpol can do arrests? The police in countries that are associated with interpol can do arrests. So if those same bodyguards end up in France, why can’t the French police arrest them and turn them over to the US for extradition? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/18 "2017-09-23T16:38:17Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The police in countries that are associated with interpol can do arrests. So if those same bodyguards end up in France, why can’t the French police arrest them and turn them over to the US for extradition? IANAL but as I understand - the DC cops can file arrest warrants but the federal government has to request extradition. So for France or Germany to arrest these people they need a request from Washington the State Department, not Washington the municipality? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/19 "2017-09-23T18:55:25Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The police in countries that are associated with interpol can do arrests. So if those same bodyguards end up in France, why can’t the French police arrest them and turn them over to the US for extradition? The police in countries not associated with INTERPOL can also make arrests. The point is INTERPOL just shares information. At the request of one of the member countries they can put out a red letter to inform other countries about a warrant. Whether or not someone gets arrested in another country has to do with what the extradition treaty is like. INTERPOL has nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-interpol-arrest-erdogans-bodyguards-for-crimes-committed-in-the-us/796979/20 "2017-09-23T20:04:28Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The police in countries not associated with INTERPOL can also make arrests. True, but virtually all countries except some very small ones are in Interpol: UN member states without membership Kiribati Micronesia North Korea Palau Solomon Islands Tuvalu Vanuatu Partially recognized states without membership Kosovo Palestine Taiwan > **[Interpol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpol#UN_member_states_without_membership)** > > The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}UK: /ˈɪntərpɒl/ IN-tər-pol, US: /-poʊl/ -⁠pohl; stylised in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. It is the w Th...