October 12, 2019
Jovianne Waltrick was just 16 years old in 1997, when she was killed in a five-car pile-up in Washington DC caused by a drunk-driving Georgian diplomat named Gueorgui Makharadze.
How Harry Dunn’s Death Is Testing The Limits Of Diplomatic Immunity
A US court sentenced Makharadze to seven years in prison after Georgia waived his right to diplomatic immunity, the legal exemption granted to officials working abroad by their host state.
Twenty-two years later, an American woman has found herself in an eerily similar position, suspected of involvement in the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn in a road accident in August. As the wife of an American diplomat, Anne Sacoolas was granted diplomatic immunity and left the UK.
Unlike Georgia, however, the US has refused to waive diplomatic immunity for Sacoolas, sparking outrage from the British public and anger from Harry Dunn’s family.
The teenager’s father Tim Dunn said: “We can’t let our son die and then nothing be answered for.”The row has reached the top levels of government in both countries, with both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Donald Trump speaking out on the issue.
On Friday, Johnson said that he had pressed Trump to lift Sacoolas’ diplomatic immunity.
“In my experience, America is very, very reluctant to allow its nationals to be tried overseas, and is absolutely ruthless in enforcing the code of diplomatic immunity,” the prime minister said.
“I must say, I don’t think it was appropriate for that provision to be used in this case.”
So is diplomatic immunity fit for purpose, or is it simply a get out of jail free card? 
Diplomatic immunity is one of the few things that is almost universally agreed upon by states around the world. Its governing treaty, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, has 192 (of a possible 195) state signatories, far more than equivalents on climate change, chemical weapons or racial discrimination.
The reason is simple – it’s in the interests of all states to abide by a law that ensures their diplomats can work abroad without the threat of being detained, harassed or taken hostage in an international incident.
Diplomats working in friendly countries have little to fear from such threats, but a universal treaty has to be applied universally – all diplomats, no matter where in the world they are working, have the same protections.
“The key point is that you’re asking people to go themselves and take their families into difficult circumstances in many cases, and to do that you have to provide them with a level of protection that they otherwise might not require or need,” said Craig Barker, professor of international law at the London South Bank University.
“Most diplomats, in fact all diplomats apart from a few renegade diplomats, in spite of having immunity, comply with the law both in their official acts and in their private acts.”But it’s these “renegade” incidents that thrust diplomatic immunity into the spotlight and spark impassioned debates about just how far its protections should extend.
One of the most famous cases involving diplomatic immunity was the death of Metropolitan police officer Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot dead from the window of the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.
After an 11-day siege at the embassy, all those inside made their way out and were granted diplomatic immunity. The incident severed diplomatic relations between the UK and Libya.And last December, the foreign office said a diplomat had been expelled from the UK following allegations of two rapes and one attempted rape from 2017. The diplomat’s home country rejected the UK’s request to waive the suspected perpetrator’s immunity.
In the case of Sacoolas, lawyer Chris Daw QC told HuffPost UK that diplomatic immunity had been applied correctly “in the legal sense” and that it is “an absolute right in the hands of the country which has appointed the diplomat to a foreign jurisdiction”.
“But the question isn’t really around the legal side of this,” he added. “It’s not about guilt, it’s about whether or not she will participate in the due process of an English criminal investigation.”
“All the police want to do is investigate properly, conduct an interview with this lady and send a file to the Crown Prosecution Service. And then, if there is evidence, they want to follow the due process of law. That’s all the police, the government and, as I understand it, the family are asking for.”
Ultimately, the decision lies with Trump. So far, he has been dismissive towards the UK’s concerns, saying at a press conference earlier this week that wrong-way driving is something that “happens”. Notes he carried with him during the event suggested that the official US position is that Sacoolas “will not return to the UK”.
Daw told HuffPost UK that the president’s nationalistic tendencies could factor into his decision-making process, particularly as he campaigns for re-election.
Trump may feel that “it’s more important to be seen to be standing up for an American than it is to be protecting the rule of law in another country,” Daw said.
Politically, Daw said, the president might be reluctant to “throw one of their own to the wolves in another country”.
But the options open to the Americans aren’t binary – they can still uphold the immunity of their citizen while taking steps to address the anguish of the Dunn family.
Daw adds: “The really right thing for them to do is to apologise to the family, write a serious letter of condolence and offer compensation but there’s no requirement on them to do that.” 
Even if Trump declines to waive Sacoolas’ diplomatic immunity, however, Dunn’s family would still have some potential avenues for legal recourse, and the family’s lawyer and spokesman, Radd Seiger, said that Dunn’s parents were engaging lawyers to take a civil case against Sacoolas in America.
There’s also the possibility that Sacoolas’ conscience gets the better of her and she returns to the UK of her own accord.
“The Vienna Convention states immunity is removed after the end of the diplomatic appointment so given that she and her husband have left the UK, one assumes they no longer have any diplomatic accreditation,” said Barker.
And there is also one more, and far more dramatic, option open to Dunn’s family – suing the US government itself in a UK court.
“What they would have to do, and it’s not going to be easy, is in the UK they would have to show attribution – that Sacoolas’ actions could be attributed to the US,” Barker said.
“Now, that might be a stumbling block if they were purely private acts. However, given that the immunity belongs to the US, you could argue that it’s the US that should be the respondent in this case.
“The US would normally have immunity under the State Immunity Act (SIA), but there is a clear exception in the SIA for cases involving personal injury and death.”On Friday, Harry’s auntie Katie Grant and family friend Nicola Watson told the PA News Agency they would be launching a green ribbon campaign around the area where he lived in memory of the teenager.
She said: “Grief doesn’t come close to what I’ve felt to be honest with you.
“I’ve never had anyone young and so close actually go. When you’re older you kind of accept that they’ve had their life.”Related... Boris Johnson Calls US 'Absolutely Ruthless' For Safeguarding Suspect In Harry Dunn Death Donald Trump Defends US Diplomat's Wife Over Death Of British Teenager Harry Dunn Photo Of Donald Trump's 'Secret' Notes Reveal US's Stance On Diplomatic Immunity Road Crash Row
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Politic
Mary Trump 'energized' as uncle 'Donald's campaign spirals into chaos'
Mar 29, 2024
Donald Trump's campaign is in chaos, and his niece says she's energized.Mary Trump, the niece of the former president and a psychologist by trade, has previously been critical of her uncle.On Thursday, she said her uncle's failures are adding up.ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different"As the RNC’s fundraising falters and Donald’s campaign spirals into chaos, I am energized!" she said in a Substack post.She then continued:"When Donald dominates the news cycle, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. Every bad headline has a negative impact. But then I remember something crucial: There’s usually more to the story than meets the eye. I’m determined to cut through the media noise and share with you all the good that happened this week. These are the headlines we need to remain energized and hopeful that the media largely ignored."Mary Trump goes on to highlight President Joe Biden's recent fundraising hauls."President Biden’s $155 million+ war chest has just received another turbo boost, bringing the total of cash on hand to at least $180 million. (By comparison, between his campaign and the RNC, Donald barely has over $50 million — and continues to drain the accounts to cover his absolutely staggering legal expenses)," she wrote. "This is a development that could significantly increase Biden’s ability to influence the narrative in crucial swing states."This, she says, also tells us a lot about voter excitement for Biden."While critics have expressed doubts about the degree to which the Democratic base is fired up as compared to 2020, today’s $25 million fundraiser, raised with donations ranging from $250 to $500,000, should put any doubts to rest — yes, we are absolutely behind President Biden and Vice President Harris and we’re in this fight until the end," she wrote.Read the full post here.
READ MORE
Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Ruby Franke’s Husband REVEALS Alleged Rules He Had to Follow at Home | E! News
March 28, 2024
_mU-3lE2QwI
#KenanThompson speaks out following the #QuietonSet documentary. (🎥: Tamron Hall Show) #shorts
March 28, 2024
8AGP-Gfw_Ek
King Charles Shares "Great Sadness" at Missing Royal Appearance | E! News
March 28, 2024
lyizFqf1kQY
Martha Reeves Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 27, 2024
QzyezumEPtQ
Eminem, 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg Present Dr. Dre with a Star on the Walk of Fame
March 19, 2024
4bNLs1hxVp8
Opening Remarks for the Variety Summit October 20th, 2023 Jay Penske
March 18, 2024
c6Z707iLq8E
Montell Jordan Dishes On Young MC Wedding, 'This Is How Date Night' Plans | TMZ
March 28, 2024
G3SMExj-qio
Davina Potratz Says TV Not Helping 'Selling Sunset' Relationship Woes | TMZ
March 28, 2024
D4piy4GNm4k
Logan Paul Rips Graham Bensinger Over Documentary, You Promised Apple TV+ | TMZ Live
March 28, 2024
NiSDpZhZklQ
Prince William pinned royal medal to Spice Girl Mel B’s boobs #shorts
March 28, 2024
O1cQ0UW9pco
Jennifer Garner shares ‘hard’ part of raising her and Ben Affleck’s kids
March 28, 2024
3Q7mZaVUdgc
50 Cent's ex Daphne Joy named as an alleged sex worker in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuit #shorts
March 28, 2024
yhLFI8DG9rM
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
PSG W - Hacken W
28
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Barcelona W - SK Brann W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Chelsea W - Ajax W
27
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Playoffs - Women
Lyon W - SL Benfica W
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.