Diplomats who commit crimes shouldn’t get a free pass

[Leader]

hand over terrorist raymond davis ?? @Solomon2 oh right he was CIA contractor not diplomat, while kerry was senator who came down to ensure release !!

bloody criminal imperialist apply on your self first !

 

[Developereo]

The lawyers of the victim's families claimed that they had been forced to accept the money. Blood money is only acceptable if the family accepts it. They were clearly coerced into accepting it.

All the more reason to get rid of this ridiculous law.

But, since it's basically a license for rich people to get away with murder, it will stay on the books.

 

[JayAtl]

hmm- 3 times now indian officials charged under this same crime... embarrassing wouldn't you say?

hand over terrorist raymond davis ?? @Solomon2 oh right he was CIA contractor not diplomat, while kerry was senator who came down to ensure release !!

bloody criminal imperialist apply on your self first !

you had him, you let him go for cash ... why you screaming now over your own actions?

 

[Kolaps]

Opinions
Diplomats who commit crimes shouldn’t get a free pass

By Martina E. Vandenberg, Published: January 1
Martina E. Vandenberg is a pro bono human rights attorney and president of the Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center. She has brought cases against diplomats for domestic worker abuse in the United States and provides technical assistance to pro bono attorneys representing domestic workers, including the lawyers for the domestic worker in Devyani Khobragade’s case.

......................................

You even bothered to copy the Washington Post logo as well...amazingly hyperactive. You must be work for US government?

I hope the title is not true, because it's very very bad for US.

Everyone know that US diplomats are very active around the world, especially in the secret ops that mostly are illegal according to every country law.

 

[airmarshal]

And this applies to American 'diplomats' too. Most of the time they are CIA agents under diplomatic disguise. Americans must stop acting holier than every one else.

 

[hari sud]

If Washington Post is to be believed then two third of American diplomats would be in various jails of the world. They are responsible for far more heinous crimes like murder, undermining other governments, violation of laws, bribery, spiriting citizens of other counties out when they are about to be caught etc.

Devyani's crime of paying to what her employee agreed as per contract is crime so pale that normally nobody would pay attention to it except some stupid fool thought it otherwise.

 

[Dubious]

In my opinion no one should get a free pass.... how is that even democratic and this "free pass" obstructs human rights and equality rights!

Be it a diplomat, a prince, the PM or the CIA/ FBI...free pass gives a free pass to do crimes and get away with it!

 

[scrumpy]

hmm- 3 times now indian officials charged under this same crime... embarrassing wouldn't you say?

There is another dimension to this story.
Fear and loathing in New York: Former diplomat Prabhu Dayal reveals how Indian envoys to the US can fall victim to maids pursuing their American dreams | Mail Online

Not sure there is much support in India for the diplomat personally for her dealings with her maid. Many people however are very angry at how an Indian embassy staff was treated by the Americans while they demand privileges for themselves in India.

There would not have been this hue and cry if she was arrested and charged in a more dignified manner. The reactions to the earlier two charges support this.

 

[jaunty]

In my opinion no one should get a free pass.... how is that even democratic and this "free pass" obstructs human rights and equality rights!

The "free pass" is there because different countries have different set of rules. If there is a universal code that would apply to all diplomats regardless of the country they are serving in then it would be ok. But right now that's not the case. The diplomats don't voluntarily choose their location, they go to places where they probably wouldn't otherwise. Diplomatic immunity ensures that they won't be tried under local laws.

 

[Dubious]

The "free pass" is there because different countries have different set of rules. If there is a universal code that would apply to all diplomats regardless of the country they are serving in then it would be ok. But right now that's not the case. The diplomats don't voluntarily choose their location, they go to places where they probably wouldn't otherwise. Diplomatic immunity ensures that they won't be tried under local laws.

Duuhhh they are going with state's money...its not supposed to be a honeymoon....they knew that when they became a diplomat...

If the post was an open one, no one would end up in poor nations...or war torn nations because of shear security risks...I dont mind them getting extra security but a "free pass" gives them freedom to do anything and get away with anything...
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely

 

[jaunty]

There is a misconception here. By the Vienna Conventions you don't get dip immunity when the receiving country grants it to you; you get dip immunity when the sending country (usually yours) requests it and the request is received by the receiving country's foreign ministry; it's then up to the receiving country to issue a rejection.

In Davis' case the U.S. claimed to have a receipt of their request for dip immunity for Davis from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. The FM would not acknowledge this. From there things get murky and confused. Nonetheless, it appears the U.S. stuck to the legalities of Pakistan: if RD didn't have dip-immunity, then the "blood money" paid stands as a conviction-and-fine. To further pursue him would be double jeopardy.

If Pakistan hadn't rejected the request of diplomatic immunity from the US then there wouldn't be any need to invoke sharia and pay blood money. Technically it was within the local laws of Pakistan, the issue I was pointing to was claiming the moral high ground which is what the article in the OP is about.

Duuhhh they are going with state's money...its not supposed to be a honeymoon....they knew that when they became a diplomat...

If the post was an open one, no one would end up in poor nations...or war torn nations because of shear security risks...I dont mind them getting extra security but a "free pass" gives them freedom to do anything and get away with anything...
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely

So which laws do you think they should be under? The local laws of the country they are posted to?

 

[Dubious]

So which laws do you think they should be under? The local laws of the country they are posted to?

Kindly elaborate on this bit...

Most civil laws are similar in most countries....like rape, drug trafficking, human rights violation, prostitution, murder, DUI and many more...

Many countries that yell shariah also happen to have a civil court....Those that dont (I dont know any country running solely shariah laws), may refer the case to a civil court...but why give them a free pass to go doing as they wish making them above the law coz no matter what they do they just flash their card and walk away ...how is that even allowed? Where are people crying human rights violation or stuff like that?

 

[jaunty]

Kindly elaborate on this bit...

Most civil laws are similar in most countries....like rape, drug trafficking, human rights violation, prostitution, murder, DUI and many more...

All of those come under criminal laws and different countries have very different laws and the way they implement them. For example prostitution is legal in many countries but you would go to jail for that in many.

Many countries that yell shariah also happen to have a civil court....Those that dont (I dont know any country running solely shariah laws), may refer the case to a civil court...but why give them a free pass to go doing as they wish making them above the law coz no matter what they do they just flash their card and walk away ...how is that even allowed? Where are people crying human rights violation or stuff like that?

Not sure why you felt the need to point out sharia. Even without it many countries without a death penalty would hesitate to send their diplomats to countries with death penalty. Not just that various crimes have different extent of punishment in different countries. It's not even up for debate.

 

[Dubious]

There is a misconception here. By the Vienna Conventions you don't get dip immunity when the receiving country grants it to you; you get dip immunity when the sending country (usually yours) requests it and the request is received by the receiving country's foreign ministry; it's then up to the receiving country to issue a rejection.

In Davis' case the U.S. claimed to have a receipt of their request for dip immunity for Davis from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. The FM would not acknowledge this. From there things get murky and confused. Nonetheless, it appears the U.S. stuck to the legalities of Pakistan: if RD didn't have dip-immunity, then the "blood money" paid stands as a conviction-and-fine. To further pursue him would be double jeopardy.

Not sure what American media said but :

Raymond Allen Davis is a former United States Army soldier, private security firm employee, and contractor with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). On January 27, 2011, Davis killed two reportedly armed men in Lahore, Pakistan. Although the U.S. government contended that he was protected by diplomatic immunity because of his employment with the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, Davis was jailed and criminally charged by Pakistani authorities with double murder and the illegal possession of a firearm. A car coming to aid Davis killed a third Pakistani man in a "hit and run" while speeding on the wrong side of the road. On March 16, 2011, Davis was released after the families of the two killed men were paid $2.4 million in diyya (a form of monetary compensation or blood money). Judges then acquitted him on all charges and Davis immediately departed Pakistan.

The incident led to a diplomatic furor and deterioration in Pakistan–United States relations. A major focus of the incident was the U.S.'s assertion that Davis was protected under the principle of diplomatic immunity due to his role as an "administrative and technical official" attached to the Lahore consulate. The U.S. government claimed that Davis was protected under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and demanded he be released from custody immediately. President Barack Obama asked Pakistan not to prosecute Davis and recognize him as a diplomat, stating, "There's a broader principle at stake that I think we have to uphold." The Pakistani officials disputed the claim of immunity from a murder charge, asserting that Davis was involved in clandestine operations, and questioned the scope of his activities in Pakistan. The Pakistani Foreign Office stated that "this matter is sub judice in a court of law and the legal process should be respected." Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that, according to official records and experts in the Foreign Office, Davis was "not a diplomat and cannot be given blanket diplomatic immunity"; Qureshi's stand on the issue allegedly led to him losing the Foreign Affairs ministerial post.

The incident led to widespread protests in Pakistan demanding action against Davis.

Almost a month after the incident, U.S. officials revealed Davis was a contractor for the CIA after it was reported in The Guardian. According to The Telegraph, he was acting head of the CIA in Pakistan.

An unnamed official with the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) stated that Davis had contacts in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghanistan border and knew both the men he shot. He said the ISI is investigating the possibility that the encounter on the streets of Lahore stemmed from a meeting or from threats to Davis. Some media outlets have suggested, according to anonymous sources, that data retrieved from Davis's phones and GPS device had been to Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and some tribal areas of the country, areas that have been the subject of U.S. drone attacks.These attacks were interrupted for several weeks after Davis's arrest before resuming on March 18, 2011, in an attack at Datta Khel.

The "men" were teenagers...no one seems to have bothered about that...shooting at kids didnt sound interesting coz they were Pakistani kids had it been in USA...it would have been on the 1st page...

Not to mention how a technical stuff was upgraded to diplomat...

this is a good example why diplomatic immunity shouldnt exist coz such things can happen, shoot anyone coz you are delusional and then claim immunity?

All of those come under criminal laws and different countries have very different laws and the way they implement them. For example prostitution is legal in many countries but you would go to jail for that in many.

Well then as a diplomat I believe it should be your job to learn the laws why are you given an extra boost of security, housing, comforts and everything and are expected to bring a good image yet you refuse to learn the law of the state you are in? That is obnoxious behaviour, such creatures should not be diplomats...why are all the laws only for the normal people on whose taxes these diplomats run?

Not sure why you felt the need to point out sharia.

I thought that would be your next step as for different laws

Even without it many countries without a death penalty would hesitate to send their diplomats to countries with death penalty. Not just that various crimes have different extent of punishment in different countries. It's not even up for debate.

It should be open for debate...you are sending a diplomat = representative of your country

They should at least learn the laws of the country they will spend 3-5 yrs in...because of this dip immunity they dont bother and think of themselves as above the law and hence all these cases of crap!

 

[Bombermanx1]

Seriously USA is the one who was pushing us towards enmity with china,Democracy or none, you didn't even care about us during 90's and put a lot of sanctions just for exploding a nuke, Now we are STRATEGIC ALLIES?.
Seems USA is desperate, you know when your power is failing you try to flaunt more by showing off.
Everything that goes up has to come down, that's the law of nature, unless you think you are not of this earth. I told the same thing to a Brit in 2004, he was gloating over how USA made peace etc.Now??? i see UK pm coming to india please invest in our country Uk needs India more than India needs it, well .Please take back all your jobs and everything, no sweat.
You are not doing us a favor if you know, nor do we want your favor!