Harry Dunn, a 19-year-old Briton, died on August 27, 2019 in the collision of his motorcycle with a car that was traveling on the wrong side of the road near an American base in central England. The driver, Anne Sacoolas, was charged in December with dangerous driving causing death but, invoking diplomatic immunity, this alleged ex-CIA agent and wife of a diplomat had already returned to the United States. Washington reiterated on Tuesday its refusal to extradite him.
"I can confirm that Interpol has issued a red notice for Anne Sacoolas," said Harry Dunn family spokesperson Radd Seiger. It was not possible to confirm with Interpol, the organization not communicating on individual cases not appearing on its public list.
Diplomatic cold
The red notice is a request for arrest for extradition purposes concerning persons wanted following an arrest warrant or a judicial decision of the requesting country, without strictly speaking constituting an international arrest warrant . It is distributed in the 190 member countries of the organization of international police cooperation.
The UK had previously unsuccessfully asked the U.S. for the extradition of this mother of three, the case throwing a chill in diplomatic relations between the two countries seeking to reach a post-Brexit trade agreement. Washington confirmed the decision on Tuesday. "The United States has declined the United Kingdom's request to extradite an American citizen involved in a tragic car accident," said a spokesman for the State Department. "In this regard, it is a final decision of the Secretary of State Pompeo," he added, adding that Anne Sacoolas enjoyed diplomatic immunity on British territory.
"A denial of justice"
For British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the American refusal "amounts to a denial of justice". "The Prime Minister has always been clear that he wants justice for Harry and his family, and has raised the issue several times with President Trump," said the spokesman. He said that according to British Foreign Affairs, Anne Sacoolas had lost her diplomatic immunity when she left the UK after the accident.
The news of the red notice gave the family of the victim "the certainty that the British authorities are clearly on the same wavelength as us," said Tuesday Charlotte Dunn, the mother of the teenager. "It was a very emotional afternoon," with "a lot of tears" when they heard the news, she added, even if "the excitement is always short lived".
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- United States
- World
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- Interpol