The United Kingdom denounced this Friday "a denial of justice" after the United States' refusal to extradite a woman of an American diplomat accused of being responsible for a fatal road accident in England.
The death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn on August 27 in the collision of his motorcycle with the car of Anna Sacoolas, who was driving on the wrong side of the road near the American base where her husband works, caused a sharp emotion in the UK. The affair now adds to the subjects of dissension between London and Washington, in addition to the British project of tax on the digital giants and the possible attribution of the 5G network to the Chinese Huawei, at the time when the British government intends to negotiate after Brexit a new trade agreement with the United States.
The UK is exploring all possibilities
"At the time of the accident, and for the duration of her stay in the United Kingdom, the driver, an American citizen, enjoyed immunity," said a spokesperson for the US State Department in a statement. forwarded to AFP. Extradition "would have removed its meaning from the very fact of invoking diplomatic immunity, and would have created an extremely disturbing precedent".
Insufficient for London. "We are disappointed with this decision, which appears to be a denial of justice," reacted a spokeswoman for the British Home Office. "We are urgently examining all the possibilities open to us". After reiterating the UK's disappointment in a telephone conversation with US ambassador to London Woody Johnson, British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said in a statement that "the UK would have acted differently he was a British diplomat in the United States ”.
Left hand drive
Relying on diplomatic immunity, Anna Sacoolas, 42, a mother of three, returned to the United States shortly after the collision. She had been charged in late December with British justice for dangerous driving causing death. The British prosecution had then launched an extradition procedure, immediately considered as an "abuse" by Washington.
Harry Dunn's family said they were "not at all surprised" by the American refusal. In a press release, she denounced an American administration "without faith or law" ready "to attack until its close ally on the international scene". This affair has indeed caused diplomatic friction between the two countries, united by a "special relationship" already put to the test in recent years. Donald Trump had spoken of a "horrible accident", blaming it on the fatality and the difficulty for an American motorist to get used to driving on the left.
While the British press has reported on other accidents near the military site in central England, Minister Dominic Raab said that "work to improve road safety on and around the base of Croughton must continue. " Despite the setback, Harry Dunn's family plans to continue their fight for justice and has scheduled a demonstration outside the base on Sunday February 2, BBC spokesman Radd Seiger said. He also called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to do more, urging him to meet with the family to "tell us what he plans to do".
Did you see ?
Donald Trump shocked the British by forcing a couple to meet the woman who killed their son
World
The mystery deepens in the case of the American diplomats in Cuba
- Diplomacy
- Immunity
- United States
- Road accident
- World
- UK
- Society