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Punched in the Face for Speaking Turkish, Part II: As part of a spate of malicious attacks against Turkish Americans coinciding with the October 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a group of diners was verbally accosted at a restaurant in Beverly Hills, California for no other reason than they were speaking Turkish. Without provocation one of the accosters punched a Turkish American diner in the face, injuring him, and then fled. The assailant, Hakob Navasardyan eventually pleaded guilty to criminal charges from this incident. TALDF, teamed with local attorney, William DeClercq, assisted the victim, Mr. Bozer, in bringing a civil suit against his attacker. On January 7, 2025 the Superior Court of California entered a judgment in favor of Mr. Bozer in the amount of $250,769.36. TALDF and Mr. Bozer expect that this victory sends a clear message: Turkish Americans have no fewer rights than all other Americans, which includes the right to peacefully and without fear enjoy the company of one’s friends and business associates at a restaurant while speaking one’s native language. The attack on Mr. Bozer and his companions was not even motivated by what they were saying; the mere fact that they were speaking Turkish was enough to enrage Navasardyan and his accomplice. Such bigotry and narrow-mindedness calls to mind the worst days of the Jim Crow South when skin color alone could cause one to be ejected from a restaurant, denied a seat on a public bus, or worse, hung from a tree. Mr. Bozer’s lawsuit is a reminder that that blind hatred and intolerance deserves a swift and firm response. Mr. Bozer was represented by Billy DeClercq of DeClercq Law P.C. in Los Angeles, and |