'Denial of justice': Britain rebukes U.S. for not giving up diplomat's wife

[Eugene]

Last edited Fri Jan 24, 2020, 04:58 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Britain criticized the United States on Friday for refusing to extradite a U.S. diplomat’s wife who was involved in a car crash that killed a British teenager, saying it amounted to a “denial of justice”.

British prosecutors have requested the extradition of Anne Sacoolas over the crash last August in which 19-year-old Briton Harry Dunn was killed while riding his motorbike.

But the State Department said on Thursday that Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity and that to extradite her would set “an extraordinarily troubling precedent”.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Friday that he had spoken to the U.S. ambassador in London, Woody Johnson, to express Britain’s disappointment.

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WORLD NEWS JANUARY 23, 2020 / 10:05 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Elizabeth Howcroft, Eric Beech
3 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-usa-crash/u-s-denies-britains-extradition-request-for-diplomats-wife-idUSKBN1ZN07O

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EDIT: article updated at link

Original Reuters headline: U.S. denies Britain's extradition request for diplomat's wife

[Roy Rolling]

1. That's news to Me

I didn’t know the spouses of diplomats are given diplomatic immunity from crimes.

[rpannier]

3. Not surprising when you think about it

Diplomats and members of the mission are protected for their safety -- to prevent them from being arrested under some bogus charge in a highly authoritarian country (i.e. North Korea for countries with an embassy there).
Family members are also protected to keep the host country from arresting (kidnapping them) for political reasons
It's irrelevant the country or the type of gov't involved. It's the same across the world

[James48]

2. When I served in the military

It was well known that if you broke a civilian traffic law and someone was injured or died in Germany (where I was stationed) , it was more likely than not that the US government was going to let the local authorities fully prosecute. If the accident happened on base, and no local nationals were involved, it likely would be a military prosecution only. But if it was in town, and you killed a local national, it was likely you would end up in a local jail for some time.

It is highly unusual for this woman to have caused that accident, and not be returned to the UK for prosecution. Trumps involvement already is harming the US- UK relationship. It’s wrong to keep her here- she needs to stand trial in the UK. Period.

[rpannier]

4. Family members of Diplomatic personel have the same protections as Diplomatic personel do

That covers every country

[csziggy]

8. If I remember correctly, she was not a diplomat's wife at the time of the incident

When the teen was killed, she was just engaged to a US diplomat. To me, that is fishy.

[onenote]

13. Your memory is faulty

Anne and Jonathan Sacoolas we’re married in 2003 and have three kids.

[csziggy]

14. Thanks for the correction - I should have checked before I wrote anything.

My husband and I were in the UK at the time of the incident. There was a lot of ill feeling about it, and a lot of rumors. Since we got back, I've had no time to look into it.

[DenverJared]

5. American exceptionalism

That woman was given diplomatic immunity retroactively.

Fat chance Britain will ever extradite a criminal we want. Julian Assange comes to mind.

[dware]

15. I don't believe that's true at all,

I do believe she already had DI when the accident happened, but if you have evidence otherwise, I would love to see it.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. OTOH, she can't step foot in the U.K. again, right?

Otherwise, she would risk arrest.

[COLGATE4]

7. I'm sure that thought keeps her awake nights.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Consider this: To privileged people, they HATE being told that they can't do something.

In this case, she is shut off from her social life with parties and affairs with the British rich and powerful. Trust me, that counts for a lot to people like her.

[COLGATE4]

12. Seeing as she's in the U.S. I doubt it will affect her much.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

16. I have to go with no hypocrisy on this.

She may be in the US - where she's protected - but she took this boy's life, and that's not something a female, socialite civilian knows how to compartmentalize well. She's now detested in the UK and can never step foot on British soil again. Believe me, it's a BIG deal and she IS affected by this.

[Mc Mike]

9. Which is odd, coz of how Rump wants to make sure foreign nations prosecute 'crimes'

committed by Americans abroad, sometimes. He hates crime and corruption.

He's too busy worrying about US citizens committing crimes in Ukraine to worry about US citizens committing crimes in the UK. I guess.

[bronxiteforever]

11. +1 this!