Harry Dunn case: Anne Sacoolas ‘worked for US intelligence’

It is not clear which US intelligence agency Anne Sacoolas works for however it is widely assumed her husband works for the CIA

In an explosive development in the tragic Harry Dunn case, it has been revealed that his suspected killer, Anne Sacoolas, was employed by an “intelligence agency” at the time of the crash.

This is hugely important as hitherto it had been assumed that Sacoolas was a “former” US intelligence officer, and indeed she had been identified in international media (including Press TV) in that capacity.

A court in Virginia (USA) has heard that Sacoolas’ work was “especially a factor” in her fleeing the UK after the crash in August 2019 which killed Harry.

Sacoolas’s barrister, John McGavin, told the court her client was “employed by an intelligence agency in the US” at the time of the fatal road crash outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, which houses a large US spy base.

McGavin added that Sacoolas’s secret work was “especially a factor” in her rapid departure from the UK.  

According to McGavin, Sacoolas had “fled” the UK due to “issues of security” which he cannot explain “completely candidly”. 

"I know the answer but I cannot disclose it", McGavin told the court.

This admission is explosive – and potentially a game changer – as it calls into question the diplomatic immunity which both the US and UK governments have consistently asserted on behalf of Sacoolas.

Under the agreements at RAF Croughton dating back to the mid-1990s, personnel working at the base in an “administrative” or “technical” capacity were exempted from diplomatic immunity.

While the precise legal position is yet to be clarified, there is a strong probability that Sacoolas’s role as an intelligence officer falls under the “technical” category, meaning she was not immune from criminal prosecution at the time she killed Harry by driving on the wrong side of the road.

It is not clear which US intelligence agency Sacoolas was working for at the time of the crash which took Harry’s life, or indeed if she is still working for that same intelligence agency.

It was established early on in the case that Sacoolas’ husband – who also worked at RAF Croughton – was employed by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  

The Dunn family has expressed both shock and anger at the latest development with Harry’s mother, Charlotte Charles, telling Thames Valley News (February 04) “this has been going on far too long … enough is enough now, I want justice for my son”.

Meanwhile, Radd Seiger, who is the spokesman for the Dunn family, told the Press Association on Thursday (February 04): "Given the admission in open court by Mrs Sacoolas's counsel that she was employed by US intelligence services at the time of the crash, the UK authorities must now urgently reinvestigate whether she had diplomatic immunity”.

"They have to investigate given that employees [In administrative and technical roles] had their immunity pre-waived under the 1995 RAF Croughton legal agreement", Seiger added.

In December 2019, the Crown Prosecution Service (the UK’s prosecuting authority) charged the US fugitive Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving, an offense which can attract a 14-year custodial sentence.

Despite the official charge, Sacoolas refuses to return to the UK, a decision that is fully supported by the US State Department.

Even in the light of the latest development, the State Department has reaffirmed its position that Sacoolas “had immunity from criminal jurisdiction”.  

— Lisa Dowd Sky News (@LisaSkyNews) February 4, 2021 ">http://

From @StateDept on #AnneSacoolas “At the time the accident occurred, and for the duration of her stay in the UK, the U.S. citizen driver in this case had immunity from criminal jurisdiction”.

— Lisa Dowd Sky News (@LisaSkyNews) February 4, 2021

 

 

 

 

 


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