We previously posted in early October that an American diplomat’s wife suspected of involvement in a fatal crash that killed 19-year old Harry Dunn in Croughton, in central England has left the UK under diplomatic immunity (see U.S. Diplomatic Spouse Suspect in Fatal Traffic Collision Departs UK Under Diplomatic Immunity).
The spouse previously identified in media reports as Anne Sacoolas was charged on December 20 with “causing death by dangerous driving.”
UK Chief Crown Prosecutor Janine Smith, said: “Following the death of Harry Dunn in Northamptonshire, the Crown Prosecution Service has today authorised Northamptonshire Police to charge Anne Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving.” She also announced that “Now that the CPS has authorised Northamptonshire Police to charge Anne Sacoolas we have started extradition proceedings.”
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- Anne Sacoolas (28/08/1977) has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving in relation to the death of Harry Dunn outside RAF Croughton on 27 August 2019. Extradition proceedings are now underway
- Our guidance on extradition proceedings can be found here: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/extradition
The Daily Mail reports that Sacoolas, 42, the wife of a US intelligence officer (assigned to RAF Croughton) was twice interviewed by Northamptonshire Police – once on the day after the crash, and on another occasion by officers who travelled to the US.
The Dunn family’s lawyer says that their “case in the judicial review is that Anne Sacoolas never has immunity as the secret UK-US agreement for RAF Croughton did not grant it and in any case under international law/prerogative powers it is not possible to grant family members more immunities than the actual diplomat.”
The State Department and Sacoolas’ lawyer have both issued statements to the press (see below).
British police say Harry Dunn died when he was hit by a car driven by Anne Sacoolas, whose husband was stationed at RAF Croughton in England. Sacoolas claimed diplomatic immunity and left Britain after the crash.https://t.co/2S7HRum2oH
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) December 20, 2019
"We've moved heaven and earth to get to this day."
Harry Dunn's family say they were told they had 'less than 1% chance' of getting justice, but after a long fight Anne Sacoolas has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving,
Full story here: https://t.co/3U1ySuVrdm pic.twitter.com/RARVlPtYaw
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 20, 2019
FS Dominic Raab says he has reviewed the anomaly that family members of US officers serving at RAF Croughton have, under current arrangements between the UK and the US, greater protection from UK criminal jurisdiction than the officers themselves. He will discuss with the US.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) December 20, 2019
Our case in the judicial review is that Anne Sacoolas never has immunity as the secret UK-US agreement for RAF Croughton did not grant it and in any case under international law/prerogative powers it is not possible to grant family members more immunities than the actual diplomat
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) December 20, 2019
State Dept also talking about setting precedent – this won't the the news the Dunn family are hoping for.
"The use of an extradition treaty to attempt to return the spouse of a former diplomat by force would establish an extraordinarily troubling precedent."#HarryDunn— Emily Purser Brown (@EmilyPurser) December 20, 2019
The Americans have now said that Anne Sacoolas had immunity at the time of the crash and therefore a request for extradition under these circumstances "would be an egregious abuse" https://t.co/uZ6BxNbnL5 pic.twitter.com/uYeMk1yl8t
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) December 20, 2019
Anne Sacoolas’ lawyer responds to the charges today – “Anne will not return voluntarily to the UK to face a potential jail sentence for what was a terrible but unintentional accident”. pic.twitter.com/BVzmodRop3
— Emily Purser Brown (@EmilyPurser) December 20, 2019