US government defies Anne Sacoolas Interpol notice

The US government has ignored an Interpol Red notice for a former CIA operative accused of killing a Northamptonshire teenager, by sticking to its guns on refusing to extradite her to the UK to face justice.

This is believed to be the first time in its 97-year history that Interpol has issued a Red notice for either a serving or former CIA officer. 

The US has reacted harshly to Interpol's initiative by asserting that a refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas – who killed Harry Dunn outside RAF Croughton last August – is “final”.

A State Department spokeswoman repeated the oft-stated American position that Sacoolas has had diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution from the outset.

US continues to display arrogance in Harry Dunn case

The US State Department has all but ruled out extraditing the woman charged with the tragic death of young Harry Dunn.

But the prevailing opinion in the UK and elsewhere is that Sacoolas did not have diplomatic immunity at the time she killed young Harry last August as a result of careless driving.

Sacoolas was not formally working at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire (which houses a US spy base) and was merely living there as the wife of a serving US spy stationed on British soil.

That opinion has now been given international legal weight following the issue of a Red notice by the International Criminal Police Organization, more commonly known as Interpol.

Fugitive from justice 

The Red notice means that if Sacoolas leaves the US, she faces arrest for allegedly killing young Harry.

In December 2019 Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service formally charged Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving, an offence that can attract a prison sentence of up to 14 years.  

News of the Interpol notice was delivered to Harry’s long-suffering parents via e-mail by Northamptonshire Police, informing them that the suspect (Sacoolas) is “wanted internationally” and “should she leave the USA the wanted circulations should be enacted”.

Reacting to the news, Harry’s mother, Charlotte Charles, said the Interpol intervention is “a huge step in the right direction”.

Whilst the stubborn attitude of the US State Department blunts the impact of the good news from Interpol, Harry’s family and their legal representatives are unlikely to be deterred.

Steely adviser 

The Dunn family’s adviser and spokesman, Radd Seiger, dismissed the latest US posturing by claiming that US secretary state, Mike Pompeo’s “refusal” to extradite Sacoolas does “not reflect” the real legal position.

"In fact quite the contrary, as the US Embassy in London said in a recent letter to Andrea Leadsom [Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire, the constituency where Harry was killed], both countries recognize that the final decision will rest with the court following a judicial review", Seiger said.

Later Seiger told Sky News that the move by Interpol was a “huge step towards getting justice for Harry”, before declaring “be in no doubt, this means she [Sacoolas] is coming back”.

Seiger also threw down the gauntlet at the US government by rhetorically asking: “So the real question this morning is: is the United States, the leader of the free world, really going to be the country that stands for harboring fugitives?”.

A mother's struggle 

That sentiment was echoed by Harry’s mother, Charlotte Charles, who told the same Sky news program (Kay Burley @ Breakfast): “We still feel we’ve got a way to go, but Anne Sacoolas needs to realize that she needs to come back now. It’s time”.

Looking at the big picture, whilst the move by Interpol is important symbolically, there are still huge hurdles to extraditing Sacoolas to the UK.

Besides recalcitrant US opposition, there are grave doubts about the British government’s resolve in pursuing an extradition.

Whilst the British judiciary – in the form of the Crown Prosecution Service – has formally charged Sacoolas, the executive branch of the government, notably the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), is less keen on an extradition, let alone a prosecution.

Observers have long accused the FCO of facilitating Sacoolas’ escape from Britain, even though Foreign Office officials were fully aware that strictly speaking Sacoolas did not qualify for diplomatic immunity.

Harry Dunn's family in tense meeting at the White House

Britain continues to look weak and impotent in the face of a resolute US refusal to send back the wife of spy who killed young Harry by dangerous driving.

Young Harry’s tragic death has already caused substantial friction in UK-US diplomatic ties and the FCO would be loath to press the matter firmly, especially now that the US state department has spoken with a tone of finality on the matter.

But the FCO’s apparent dereliction of duty towards a British citizen and his grieving family is unlikely to deter the #JusticeforHarry movement which is expected to intensify its campaigns in the weeks and months ahead.

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