Turkish diplomat Halil Ibrahim Dokuyucu has returned to Turkey for vacation despite facing possible criminal charges.
Dokuyucu is the deputy head of Turkey’s trade office in Taiwan. He claimed diplomatic immunity after allegedly harassing a woman at a Taipei bar in July. Dokuyucu also scuffled with police called to the bar.
However, the foreign ministry says that under an earlier bilateral agreement, Dokuyucu does not enjoy diplomatic immunity in Taiwan, a condition that also applies to Taiwan’s envoys to Turkey. Foreign ministry spokesperson Eleanor Wang said Thursday that repeated attempts to communicate with the Turkish government have yielded no response.
“We have been waiting for a while and still have not gotten a response [from the Turkish government], therefore we’ve moved on to informing all parties that are involved. On August 23rd, we sent a document to the Ministry of Justice, our representative office in Turkey and the Turkish Trade Office in Taiwan confirming that neither side has granted immunity to the diplomats of the other side,” said Wong.
The foreign ministry has urged the Turkish trade office to inform Dokuyucu he must return to Taiwan to face potential criminal charges.