ARRESTED BVI PREMIER SEEKS TO EVADE CRIMINAL CHARGES BY INCORRECTLY INTERPOSING DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY

Andrew Fahie (in custody)

ANDREW FAHIE, the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, in custody in Miami, and facing both drug trafficking and money laundering charges, has a Notice of Invocation of Immunity,  claiming that he has Diplomatic Immunity from criminal prosecution. He couldn't be more wrong; Allow me to explain why.

Whilst leaders of sovereign nations do enjoy immunity under international law, pursuant to the United Nations Convention on Special Missions, it exists only on an extremely limited basis, such as an official government visit, or other official business. In this case, Fahie flew to Miami to receive a six figure bribe, to facilitate protection of cocaine being shipped from Latin America, through Tortola, and into the United States. Private criminal activities hardly qualifies.

 Look at prior cases. The arrest and conviction of Turks & Caicos Prime Minister Norman Saunders, in Miami Federal Court 40 years ago, demonstrates the status of the law in the United States. Don't forget Panamanian President (and General and Dictator) Manuel Noriega, who served 20 years in a Miami Federal Prison, another example of this principle. 

If that wasn't enough, Premier Fahie is NOT the leader of a sovereign nation; he heads a British Overseas Territory, a possession of the United Kingdom. He is not a Head of State, as such is defined. Leading a colony of a foreign state clearly does not qualify. 

Fahie also fails on the traditional type of Diplomatic Immunity; he is not an accredited diplomat to the United States; he never presented his credentials in the United States, nor did he have specific duties that required him to be present in the United States. 

These are the efforts of a man desperate to avoid the consequences of his crimes in an American Federal courtroom, where justice is served, the Rule of Law strictly followed, and in the total absence of the level of corruption that exists in the British Virgin Islands, and elsewhere in the East Caribbean. Set the case for trial, please.