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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the US decision to issue arrest warrants for 12 of his bodyguards allegedly linked with a brawl outside the Turkish embassy in Washington, DC.

Several people were injured when a brawl broke out outside Turkey’s embassy during Erdogan’s visit to the US in May.

Washington, DC police reportedly obtained the arrest warrants for the bodyguards on Thursday.

Speaking at a dinner to break the Ramadan fast in the capital, Ankara, on Thursday, Erdogan said: “They have issued arrest warrants for 12 of my bodyguards. What kind of law is this?

“If my bodyguards cannot protect me, then why am I bringing them to America with me?”

He said Kurdish PKK fighters and members of what Turkey calls the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) were united in protest against him at a short distance of 40-50 metres from where he was with his bodyguards.

“The US police is doing nothing. Can you imagine what the response would have been if a similar incident had taken place in Turkey?” Erdogan said.

According to the Turkish government, FETO and its US-based leader Fethullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people dead and nearly 2 200 injured.

Turkey also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

On the other hand, more than 1 200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK – listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and EU – resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.

Earlier on Thursday, Turkey’s foreign ministry called in John Bass, the US ambassador to Ankara, for talks over the arrest warrants.

“It has been conveyed to the ambassador that this decision taken by US authorities is wrong, biased and lacks legal basis,” the ministry said in a statement, blaming local authorities for failing to take proper security measures with regards to the “so-called protesters”.

Washington, DC District Police Chief Peter Newsham said nine Turkish security agents, three Turkish police officers and two Canadians were being sought over the brawl.

He also said two arrests were made on Wednesday.

“We all saw the violence that was perpetrated against the protesters,” Newsham said. “We’re not going to tolerate this.”

Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, said the charges “send a clear message that the United States does not tolerate individuals who use intimidation and violence to stifle freedom of speech and legitimate political expression.” — AFP