Friday, June 11, 2021

Will President Biden Revoke Anne Sacoolas's Diplomatic Immunity And Face Trial In The UK For The Death Of A Motorcyclist?

 

Daily Mail: President Joe Biden is 'actively engaged and extremely sympathetic' in the case of motorcyclist Harry Dunn, Boris Johnson reveals at G7 ahead of Court of Appeal challenge against suspect Anne Sacoolas's diplomatic immunity 

* Boris Johnson and Joe Biden discussed case in their first face-to-face meeting 

 * Prime Minister said President Biden is 'actively engaged' in the Harry Dunn case 

 * Teenager was killed when a car crashed into his motorbike in Northamptonshire 

 * US suspect Anne Sacoolas, 43, had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf President Joe Biden is 'actively engaged' and 'extremely sympathetic' in the case of motorcyclist Harry Dunn, Boris Johnson said following their first in-person meeting. 

The leaders discussed the 19-year-old, who was killed when a car crashed into his motorbike outside a military base in Northamptonshire in August 2019, ahead of the G7 summit of world leaders in Cornwall. 

Mr Johnson said President Biden has 'his own personal reasons for feeling very deeply about the issue,' adding he was 'extremely sympathetic' during their discussion. 

Read more .... 

Update #1: Joe Biden ‘actively engaged’ in case of Harry Dunn, says Boris Johnson (The Guardian) Update #2: Harry Dunn: PM raises teenager's death with President Biden (BBC)  

WNU Editor: President Biden is not going to waive diplomatic immunity. It would set a dangerous precedent for all US diplomas. Immunity is considered a cornerstone of diplomacy and is intended to protect diplomats and their families in hostile environments or from harassment in host countries.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Immunity is considered a cornerstone of diplomacy and is intended to protect diplomats and their families in hostile environments or from harassment in host countries."

I'm not blind to the bias you may have since you are a former UN Worker/Diplomat. But the concept of diplomatic immunity is far too rigid and outdated for the modern world, especially when you have incidents such as this, which are not as uncommon as they are believed to be.

The system is overdue an overhaul, but it ain't going to happen anytime soon, sadly.