NZ expels US envoy after probe halted
Print Edition
A US diplomat has been expelled from New Zealand after Washington refused to waive diplomatic immunity so police investigating a serious crime could question him, officials said yesterday.
Details of the alleged crime have not been revealed but local media reported the diplomat left the South Pacific nation last week suffering a broken nose and black eye.
Prime Minister Bill English labelled the US knockback on immunity regrettable and said he expected American authorities to carry out their own investigation.
“We expect all diplomats here to obey our law and if it’s broken we’d expect our police to investigate,” English said.
“We regret that they didn’t give us a waiver on immunity but they didn’t and now it’s in the hands of their authorities.”
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said he was “disappointed” at the US refusal and in response had asked for the man at the center of the police investigation to be withdrawn from New Zealand.
He said Wellington’s ambassador in Washington had raised the issue with US officials.
Police said they were called to an incident in Lower Hutt, on Wellington’s outskirts, in the early hours of March 12, which “involved an individual from the US embassy in Wellington.” By the time they arrived the person had left the scene and no arrests were made.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
