What decision will the US make for the Turkish spouses working at the Turkish Embassy? Harut Sassounian

Turkish spouses “took captive” a woman from the Philippines. Harut Sassounian, Editor and Publisher of the California Courier, spoke with Alpha News about the incident.

“We all know that in recent years, Azerbaijan and Turkey have been actively involved in bribery in the US and Europe. Several such cases have already been revealed. But, of course, the biggest bribe-takers are Aliyev and Erdogan, who have made billions during their rule. Two high-ranking Turkish spouses who worked at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C., contacted a Filipino woman a few years ago and offered to send her a visa to come and be a nanny for their child. 

They signed a contract stating that they would pay the nanny $14 an hour, she would work 35 hours a week, and she would have her own room and time to rest. The Filipino woman accepted the terms and went to Washington. But then it turned out that the Turkish family was abusing the woman, forcing her to work 80 hours a week instead of the agreed 35 hours, and they did not even pay for the extra hours. Moreover, when they paid her for only 35 hours and gave her a bill to get the money from the bank, they took some of the money from her and did not give it back. They forbade her to leave the house, talk to her relatives, and warned that if she did anything against their will, they would fire her, hand her over to the police, and deport her from the country. This poor woman continued to work because her large family in the Philippines was relying on that money.

One day, the woman managed to escape and went to the Philippine Embassy in Washington, where she told how she was treated. The embassy contacted the US government and complained about discrimination, violence, underpayment, and the fact that the woman was forced to clean the house with special chemicals, which burned her hands. The Philippine Embassy contacted a strong legal organization that filed a lawsuit against the Turkish family. The court has yet to decide whether they are guilty or not. However, the spouses have already left for Ankara. They both hold high positions in the Turkish Foreign Ministry and are immune; that is, they cannot be convicted under American law. Even if the court finds them guilty, they will only be blacklisted and banned from entering the US,” Sassounian said.