UN approves India’s request to accredit diplomat charged by US

The United Nations has approved a request from India to accredit a New York-based diplomat at the centre of a dispute after her arrest by US authorities on criminal charges including visa fraud, a UN official said yesterday.

Indian media said the request to transfer Devyani Khobragade, who was deputy consul general in New York, to the UN was aimed at ending the stand-off with the US in the hopes her new diplomatic status could allow New Delhi to bring her home without the prosecution proceeding.

“The UN has processed the request to register Ms Khobragade as a member of the permanent mission of India to the UN,” a UN source said on condition of anonymity. “However, the final stop in the process is the US [state department].”

US officials were not immediately available for comment.

Ms Khobragade’s arrest on December 12th has enraged India, which is demanding that all charges against her be dropped. On the day of her arrest, she was strip-searched.

The arresting authority, the US marshals service, said Ms Khobragade’s strip-search was a routine procedure imposed on any new arrestee at the federal courthouse.

Ms Khobragade pleaded not guilty to charges of visa fraud and making false statements about how much she paid her housekeeper. She was released on $250,000 (€183,000) bail.

As India’s deputy consul general in New York, she had only limited diplomatic immunity from prosecution.

Diplomatic sources said that the broader immunity Ms Khobragade would receive as a UN-accredited diplomat could make it harder to follow through on a prosecution against her. – (Reuters)