United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Argued January 25, 2021 Decided July 27, 2021 No. 20-7017 LUSIK USOYAN, ET AL., APPELLEES v. REPUBLIC OF TURKEY, APPELLANT Consolidated with 20-7019 Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 1:18-cv-01141) Mark E. Schamel argued the cause for appellant. With him on the briefs were David S. Saltzman, Cathy A. Hinger, and Victoria A. Bruno. Agnieszka M. Fryszman argued the cause for appellees. With her on the brief were Steven R. Perles, Edward B. MacAllister, Joshua K. Perles, Douglas M. Bregman, Stephen J. Whelan, Jennifer M. Wiggins, Michael E. Tigar, Mark S. Sullivan, and Joshua Colangelo-Bryan. Andreas N. Akaras entered an appearance. 2 Neil H. Koslowe was on the brief for amicus curiae Chris Stanley, et al. in support of appellees. Brian M. Boynton, Acting Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, and Sharon Swingle and Daniel Winik, Attorneys, Richard C. Visek, Acting Legal Adviser, Department of State, were on the brief for amicus curiae United States of America in support of affirmance. Before: HENDERSON, MILLETT and WILKINS, Circuit Judges. Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge HENDERSON. KAREN LECRAFT HENDERSON, Circuit Judge: On May 16, 2017, Turkish security forces violently clashed with a crowd of protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C. Injured protesters, led by Lusik Usoyan (Usoyan) and Kasim Kurd (Kurd), filed two lawsuits in district court against the Republic of Turkey. Turkey moved to dismiss all claims against it, asserting defenses of foreign sovereign immunity, the political question doctrine and international comity. Rejecting all three defenses, the district court allowed both suits to proceed. In this consolidated appeal, we affirm. I. Background Many members of the Turkish expatriate community are strongly opposed to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They consider him a strongman who rules by decree, violates civil rights, illegally detains and tortures his own citizens and terrorizes Turkey’s Kurdish population. Thus, when President Erdogan announced that he was visiting Washington, D.C. in May 2017, several anti-Erdogan protests were planned—three of which are relevant to this litigation. 3 The facts that follow are drawn from the district court’s orders herein. See Usoyan v. Republic of Turkey, 438 F. Supp. 3d 1 (D.D.C. 2020); Kurd v. Republic of Turkey, 438 F. Supp. 3d 69 (D.D.C. 2020). On May 16, a small group of protesters assembled near Lafayette Square, directly adjacent to the White House, while President Erdogan met with President Trump at the White House. The protesters had a valid permit and protested peacefully. Then, approximately twenty of the Lafayette Square protesters migrated to Sheridan Circle, assembling on the sidewalk directly across the street from the Turkish ambassador’s (Ambassador) residence. They correctly anticipated that the residence would be President Erdogan’s first stop upon leaving the White House. The anti-Erdogan protesters carried signs and chanted through a bullhorn. According to Turkey, some of them had flags or signs supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the U.S. …
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