Turkey slams fresh US indictment brought against security officials after Erdogan protest clash

Turkey hit out Wednesday against a fresh indictment from the US Justice Department against the Middle Eastern country's security personnel accused of assaulting protesters during a Washington visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May.

US Justice Department issued a fresh indictment against Turkish security personnel accused of assaulting protesters in Washington. Source: EPA

A total of 19 people including Turkish security officials were identified from video footage of the May 16 clashes with Kurdish protesters outside the residence of Turkey's ambassador, following a meeting between Mr Erdogan and US President Donald Trump.

Three more names were added to the case on Tuesday after US officials said videos showed Turkish guards beating and kicking protesters on the ground in the "Embassy Row" section of downtown Washington. 

The Turkish foreign ministry reacted angrily to the move in a statement late Wednesday.

"We protest in the strongest terms that such an unjust and biased indictment, with names of people that have never been to the US, has been accepted," the ministry said, adding it had conveyed its reaction to the US ambassador to Ankara.

Turkey "reserved the right to take action via legal means" against the charges, which the ministry said were "unfounded".

A total of 21 counts of assault and hate crimes based on the victims' ethnicity were levelled against the group by Washington DC district attorney Channing Phillips.

All but two of the 19 "security personnel and supporters of Erdogan" remain at large. Two Turkish-American businessmen were arrested in June for their roles in the clash with protesters.

Of the 17 others, two are Canadians, and the remaining are Turkish citizens.

Footage emerged of the clashes on May 16. Pictured is a still from the video shared by the Voice of America Source: Voice of America via AP

Relations between Ankara and Washington have been strained over the US arming Syrian Kurdish militia fighting against the Islamic State group in northern Syria.

The clashes during Mr Erdogan's visit exacerbated tensions between the NATO allies, with the Turkish leader accusing US police of having allowed "terrorists" to protest "50 metres from me".

The Turkish foreign ministry repeated Ankara's criticisms of "serious negligence" by US security authorities who did not "secure our delegation's safety".

It also reiterated its claims the protesters were supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been waging an insurgency in Turkey since 1984.