Interpol issues Arrest warrant for wife of US diplomat

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Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official who is wanted in Britain over a car crash which killed teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn last year.

An email sent to 19-year-old Dunn’s parents from the Northamptonshire Police, which was seen by the PA news agency, said that 42-year-old Sacoolas is now “wanted internationally” and “should she leave the USA the wanted circulations should be enacted.” In other words, Sacoolas could be immediately arrested were she now to leave the US.

Dunn was killed in a head-on collision in August 2019 near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire. Sacoolas, who was driving the vehicle on the wrong side of the road, claimed diplomatic immunity and fled the country.

Spokesman for the Dunn family Radd Seiger confirmed on Twitter that an Interpol Red Notice has been “circulated worldwide” meaning Sacoolas “did not have diplomatic immunity” at the time of Dunn’s death and “would be arrested should she attempt to leave the USA.” Interpol’s decision, he said, renders Sacoolas a “fugitive on the run.”

Sacoolas was charged with death by dangerous driving in December, but said through her lawyer that she would “not return voluntarily” to the UK and referred to the teenager’s death as a “terrible but unintentional accident.” Washington then rejected an extradition request for Sacoolas, sparking public anger in the UK.

In February, the Mail on Sunday and Sky News reported that Sacoolas, whose husband is assumed to be a US intelligence officer, had a CIA background herself, prompting calls by Dunn’s family for a thorough investigation. The British Foreign Office said Sacoolas was only known to them to be “a spouse with no official role.”