re: Harry Dunns' Family Reach Settlement With US Woman Who Killed Him
Harry Dunn's Family to Sue US Government Over Anne Sacoolas
Lawyers for family say Trump administration tried to ‘twist’ immunity law for US diplomat
UK Closes Loophole That Let Accused Claim Immunity
The Guardian UK, 11 SEP 2020
The family of a 19-year-old motorcyclist killed in a crash involving the wife of a US diplomat have announced they are planning to sue the Trump administration for lawless misconduct and a cover-up.
Harry Dunn’s family are also going ahead with previously announced plans to sue Anne Sacoolas for damages in a civil action.
Lawyers for Sacoolas have admitted she was driving on the wrong side of the road before her car hit Dunn’s motorcycle on 27 August.
She then left the UK against the wishes of the Foreign Office, claiming diplomatic immunity under a relatively obscure agreement covering RAF Croughton, where her husband worked, and the British government.
The Dunn family’s lawyer, Radd Seiger, who left for the US on Sunday, made the announcement about the fresh legal action after instructing lawyers in the US.
“We are bringing claims against both Mrs Sacoolas in the US for civil damages as well as the Trump administration for their lawless misconduct and attempt to cover that up,” he said in a statement.
“No one is above the law and the family are determined to ensure that this never happens to another family again. It will be Harry’s memorial. His legacy.”
Seiger claimed the US government had tried to “twist and contort the laws on diplomatic immunity”.
He added: “The Trump administration is not only hellbent on breaking international laws, rules and conventions on diplomatic immunity, but they have no care or concern for the welfare of Harry’s family or any real intent on finding a solution.”
The Dunn family have so far raised nearly £75,000 through a GoFundMe page, but the potential legal costs facing the family are mounting.
The lawyers are also planning to take action against Northamptonshire police and have launched a claim for judicial review over the Foreign Office decision-making process.
Trump tried to engineer an impromptu meeting between Dunn’s parents and Sacoolas when the family were granted an extraordinary meeting with the US president in the White House
UPDATE;
Harry Dunn Death: Sacoolas Drove on Wrong Side of Road for 20 Seconds
Lawyers for wife of US diplomat say the are ‘willing to discuss resolution’ with UK authorities
PA Media 11 Sep 2020
Lawyers acting on behalf of Harry Dunn’s alleged killer Anne Sacoolas have said she drove on the “wrong side of the road for 20 seconds” before the fatal crash.
Legal representatives for the 43-year-old issued a public statement on Thursday detailing her side of the story, in which they claim she was “otherwise driving cautiously and below the speed limit”.
Her lawyers said that the American had only been living in the UK for three weeks and “instinctively” began driving on the right hand side. They said she could not see the teenager due to “the crest of a small hill”.
Reacting to the suspect’s statement and speaking on behalf of the 19-year-old’s family, their spokesman Radd Seiger told the PA news agency: “The parents have noted the statement issued this evening on behalf of Sacoolas. Their position is that these issues should not be aired in any form other than a court of law. Once again, they invite her to do the right thing and return to the UK to answer to the charges laid against her.”
The motorcyclist was killed in the crash outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August last year – a US military base where the suspect’s husband worked as an intelligence official.
The US authorities asserted that Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity and, according to her lawyers, “determined that it would be difficult for her and her family to remain in the small Croughton community”.
Dunn’s alleged killer returned to the US on a commercial flight after the US embassy “informed the Foreign Office of this decision and instructed Anne to return home”.
Sacoolas was charged with causing death by dangerous driving in December but an extradition request submitted by the Home Office was refused in January. The US State Department have since said the decision to reject the request was “final”.
In a public statement, Sacoolas’s lawyers said: “Anne did everything she could to assist Harry. After the accident, she ran from her car and tried to help him.
“Anne then saw another motorist approach and flagged her down for more support.
“The other motorist immediately called for the emergency services and Anne made calls to alert the police from the nearby air force base.
“The base police arrived quickly and assisted Harry.
“Tragically, it took over 40 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and nearly two hours passed before Harry was admitted to the hospital.
“Anne did not leave the scene until she was instructed to do so by the UK authorities.”
Sacoolas’s legal representatives also made an on-the-record statement regarding her position on the prospect of a virtual trial.
They said: “We have been and remain willing to discuss a resolution, including the possibility of virtual proceedings, with the UK authorities.
“Anne has never tried to avoid being held accountable for the tragic accident and she would like nothing more than to find a path forward and to provide the family some measure of peace.”
On Wednesday, Dunn’s family filed a federal lawsuit in the United States against Sacoolas.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Virginia, claims wrongful death and seeks financial damages.
It alleges that she did not call an ambulance and left him injured in the road.
UK Closes Loophole That Let Accused Claim Immunity
Family’s lawyer welcomes move as step towards securing US extradition of Anne Sacoolas
The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has announced the closing of secret legal loophole that allowed Harry Dunn’s alleged killer Anne Sacoolas to claim diplomatic immunity.
A lawyer for Dunn’s family welcomed the move as a “huge step” in securing the extradition to the UK of Sacoolas to stand trial.
Sacoolas, the wife of a CIA agent who was working at the US intelligence base RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, was allowed to return to the US days after allegedly driving her car on the wrong side of the road on 27 August and crashing into Dunn on his motorcycle.
In a written statement to parliament, Raab said he and US and UK officials had agreed new arrangements to prevent family members of staff stationed at the base from claiming immunity from prosecution in future.
His statement said: “We have secured the agreement of the US so that the Croughton arrangements could not in future be used in the same away as in the tragic case of Harry Dunn. These changes took effect by way of an exchange of notes on 20 July.”
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