| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| US diplomat who killed biker in road accident doesn't have 'absolute immunity', IHC rules |
| 2018-05-12 |
| [DAWN] The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday ruled that a United States diplomat, who was involved in a traffic accident that led to the death of a youth in the capital, does not have absolute immunity. On April 7, US Defence and Air Attaché Col Joseph Emanuel Hall jumped a red light at Daman-e-Koh Chowk and hit a cycle of violence. As a result, two riders of the bike suffered injuries and one of them, 22-year-old Ateeq Baig, later died. Col Hall had escaped arrest because of diplomatic immunity but a first information report (FIR) regarding the incident was registered with Kohsar Police Station. Ruling on a petition of the dear departed man's father, Justice Aamer Farooq ruled that the diplomat does not have absolute immunity. In the verdict that was reserved on Monday and announced today, the court has ordered the interior ministry to decide about placing Col Hall's name on the Exit Control List (ECL) within two weeks. Mohammad Idrees, Ateeq's father, had filed a petition through his counsel Shahzad Akbar for placement of the diplomat's name on ECL. CCTV footage of the Safe City Project shows the diplomat driving a white land cruiser at a high speed and hitting the cycle of violence after violating the red signal. On April 24, the interior ministry had informed the court that in order to restrict the movement of Col Hall, his name had been placed on the blacklist of the directorate of immigration. In his concluding arguments on Monday, the counsel had argued before Justice Farooq that "absolute immunity of diplomats may defeat citizens’ trust in the justice system". |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #26 Leaving Pakistan will not absolve him of this crime. We will have to pay the aggrieved partys' and possibly arrange for him to spend his Prison term here. You don't do anything overseas you would not in your own neighborhood, and even less. |
| Posted by: newc 2018-05-12 23:43 |
| #25 And Bush used to go fishing with Putin. Ah, the days when we were fighting Communism. But wait! Russia isn't Communist anymore. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2018-05-12 22:16 |
| #24 Fifty situps and a $2 fine seems about right. |
| Posted by: gorb 2018-05-12 21:57 |
| #23 ....we also sided with Stalin for a couple years too. War makes strange arrangements. |
| Posted by: P2kontheroad 2018-05-12 21:27 |
| #22 And to think the Pakistanis helped (were used by) the US just a few years ago. Sigh.... |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2018-05-12 21:21 |
| #21 Settle out of court. Three goats and a pickle.....done. |
| Posted by: bbrewer126 2018-05-12 19:22 |
| #20 After years of the *(r)**, Herb's shots just bounce right off. All are welcome here, well.... almost all. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-05-12 18:33 |
| #19 Please don't Frank. We don't want a wet cleanup in this aisle. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-05-12 17:51 |
| #18 Herb - has a Pakistani Diplo ever driven their own vehicle? I doubt it You seem to have emotional baggage here? Wanna unpack it? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2018-05-12 17:19 |
| #17 Let's say a Pakistani diplomat ran a red light and killed a motorcyclist in New York City. Would you support her getting off without spending a few years in prison? Emotional claptrap. It’s the ancient tradition of diplomatic immunity, as g(r)omgoru said. Wikipedia has a long article here full of the dreadful things diplomatic staff have got off scot free by invoking: The Vienna Convention is explicit that "without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State." Nevertheless, on some occasions, diplomatic immunity leads to some unfortunate results; protected diplomats have violated laws (including those that would be violations at home as well) of the host country and that country has been essentially limited to informing the diplomat's nation that the diplomat is no longer welcome (persona non grata). Diplomatic agents are not, however, exempt from the jurisdiction of their home state, and hence prosecution may be undertaken by the sending state; for minor violations of the law, the sending state may impose administrative procedures specific to the foreign service or diplomatic mission. Violation of the law by diplomats has included espionage, smuggling, child custody law violations, money laundering,[12] tax evasion, making terrorist threats,[13] slavery, preying on children over the Internet for sex,[14] and murder. And it must be remembered that Pakistan is not a safe place for unbelievers, whether from individuals and mobs running amok, jihadi organizations, or various tools of the ISI. The case of Raymond Allen Davis, also in Pakistan, comes to mind. Perhaps the Pakistanis are hoping for another $2million-plus payout... |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2018-05-12 17:12 |
| #16 um, Is ISI HQ protected by diplomatic immunity? Just askin'..... |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2018-05-12 13:37 |
| #15 This piece of shit isn't protected by diplomatic immunity. That only applies in very specific situations. Let's say a Pakistani diplomat ran a red light and killed a motorcyclist in New York City. Would you support her getting off without spending a few years in prison? Why or why not? |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy 2018-05-12 13:25 |
| #14 For some reason they don't trust the outcome. |
| Posted by: gorb 2018-05-12 12:08 |
| #13 If true he will be tried in USA - by a military court. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2018-05-12 11:09 |
| #12 Don't need to look it up. The Colonel was allegedly speeding, alleged crashed a red light, and allegedly killed somebody, all allegedly captured on CCTV. An alleged POS. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2018-05-12 11:07 |
| #11 Doodah & Herb why don't you look diplomatic immunity - and why it's both important and does not constitutes immunity from persecution - in Wikipedia? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2018-05-12 10:25 |
| #10 Yeah, because the U.S. storyline is always 100% above board. And surely the Pakistanis doctored the CCTV video. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2018-05-12 10:23 |
| #9 I'm sure Pakistan only shielded Obama Bin Laden for ten years because they love America and wanted to strike back against the Deep State. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2018-05-12 10:03 |
| #8 I appreciate all the personal onsite witnesses confirming the Pak storyline here. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2018-05-12 08:48 |
| #7 WTF, this asshole ran a red light and killed someone, and you're supporting him getting off scot free? Huh? This fucker belongs in prison for vehicular homicide. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Never seen so much support for the unelected government. |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy 2018-05-12 08:40 |
| #6 Hmmmm, crashing a red light at a high rate of speed. Oh, and hit and killed someone. If true, does anybody truly believe this colonel should be immune? Because it didn't happen in Anytown, USA, it's o.k? |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2018-05-12 08:22 |
| #5 I recommend mysterious, early morning explosions at two or three large Pak fertilizer factories. That should get their attention and put a dent in the manufacture and export (into Afghanistan) of ANFO for home made explosives as well. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-05-12 08:06 |
| #4 ...(G)rom speaks wisdom. Get this guy outta there and deal with it once he's home. OTOH, if the Pakis decide to detain him, we need to start detaining Paki diplomats. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2018-05-12 07:59 |
| #3 Regardless, diplomatic immunity is diplomatic immunity and Pakis should be taught this. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2018-05-12 03:22 |
| #2 He was the embassy CSO, stopped in traffic at an intersection. An easy target for a back seat shooter on a motorcycle. Possibly more to the story. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-05-12 01:25 |
| #1 US diplomats, drunk on the status that comes with being immune to the law in a strange country. I can't believe we have assholes like this representing us abroad, but here we are. |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy 2018-05-12 00:03 |