Interpol issues international arrest warrant for Harry Dunn’s alleged killer Anne Sacoolas

Harry Dunn’s alleged killer Anne Sacoolas is now a fugitive on the run as Interpol issues an international arrest warrant for her – nine months after causing the fatal crash and fleeing Britain for America under diplomatic immunity

  • Anne Sacoolas, 42, is charged with causing the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn
  • The motorbike rider died after a crash in Northamptonshire in August last year
  • Ms Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official, claimed diplomatic immunity

The wife of a US intelligence official accused of killing British teenager Harry Dunn is now a fugitive on the run after Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for her.

Nine months after the fatal crash, after which she fled Britain for the US, Anne Sacoolas is now the subject of an Interpol Red Notice.

Sacoolas, 42, is charged in the UK with causing the death of the 19-year-old by dangerous driving following a crash in Northamptonshire in August last year. 

She claimed diplomatic immunity following the collision and was able to return to her home country, sparking a row between the UK and US. 

Anne Sacoolas, 42, is charged in the UK with causing the death the 19-year-old Harry Dunn by dangerous driving following a crash in Northamptonshire in August last year

Ms Sacoolas, who is the wife of a US intelligence official, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy

Ms Sacoolas, who is the wife of a US intelligence official, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy

News broke of the Red Notice issued by Interpol this afternoon

News broke of the Red Notice issued by Interpol this afternoon

She was eventually charged with causing death by dangerous driving in December.

But in January a Home Office extradition request for her was rejected by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Now Interpol, an international organisation that facilitates worldwide police cooperation, issued the warrant which means she would be arrested the minute she leaves US soil.

In an e-mail sent by Northamptonshire Police, the 19-year-old’s parents were told the suspect is ‘Wanted Internationally’ and ‘should she leave the USA the wanted circulations should be enacted’.  

Harry Dunn's mother and father Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles have campaigned tirelessly for justice over the crash

Harry Dunn’s mother and father Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles have campaigned tirelessly for justice over the crash 

Ms Sacoolas was eventually charged with causing death by dangerous driving in December

Harry Dunn died in hospital following the crash on the B4034 near RAF Croughton

Ms Sacoolas (left) was eventually charged with causing death by dangerous driving of Harry Dunn (right) in December

Mr Dunn, 19, died in hospital his motorbike crashed into a car outside the US military base RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27 last year. 

The crash took place on the B4031, about 400 metres from the exit.

The car was said to have been driven by Ms Sacoolas, a US government employee working at the United States Air Force listening station at RAF Croughton.

Ms Sacoolas cooperated with police at the scene of the crash and was breathalysed.

She was interviewed the next day at home by police, who launched an investigation into the crash after reports that the car was on the wrong side of the road at the time of the crash.

Diplomatic immunity was mentioned during the interview, sparking Northamptonshire Police to spark an immunity waiver later that day.

But on September 16, two weeks after the crash, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) informed the police that the waiver had been declined.

It was also revealed Ms Sacoolas had left the UK on a US Air Force aircraft. 

In a statement today, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘Our position remains that the US decision not to extradite Anne Sacoolas amounts to a denial of justice and she should return to the UK.

‘We have made this clear to the US including the Prime Minister to President Trump.’

What is an Interpol Red Notice and what happens next for Anne Sacoolas? 

According to The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), a Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

Red Notices are issued by Interpol for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

The notices simultaneously alert police in all of Interpol’s member countries about internationally wanted fugitives.

They are issued following a request by a member state, or a local law enforcement agency, on this occasion Northamptonshire Police, and follow judicial proceedings in the country issuing the request.

This is not always the home country of the individual, but the country where the crime was committed.  

Interpol steers away from the term ‘international arrest warrant’ as it says it cannot compel members countries to comply with the Red notice.

It says each member country decides what legal value it gives to the notice and the authority of their law enforcement officers to make arrests. 

Both the United States, where Ms Sacoolas is now, and the United Kingdom are members of Interpol. 

But US officials have rejected a request by the UK’s Home Office to extradite Ms Sacoolas and it is unlikely she will arrested by US law enforcement.

However Ms Sacoolas could be arrested should she leave the US at any point while the Red Notice is in place. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk