Salman Khurshid: It is my duty to bring back Khobragade and restore her dignity
India vowed on Wednesday to bring home a female diplomat who was arrested and strip-searched in New York last week at any cost amid rising anger against the United States over her treatment.
It is my duty to bring the lady back and we have to restore her dignity and I will do it at any cost foreign minister Salman Khurshid told Parliament.
India upped the ante a
day after it withdrew a bunch of special privileges and security measures accorded to US diplomats and missions in India, even as the US on Tuesday confirmed Devyani Khobragade was strip-searched and kept
in a cell with other inmates, while hoping to prevent the episode from harming ties with India.
We don’t want this to negatively impact our bilateral relationship and we’ll keep talking it with them said state department spokesperson Marie Harf.That may be somewhat difficult at this juncture, given the outrage felt in India at the “barbaric” manner in which the diplomat marched off handcuffed, and then strip-searched.The US is not backing down on the arrest or the manner in which it was carried out, though it did say the incident is being reviewed.There are no indications that anything but appropriate measures were followed Harf said.But we do know this is sensitive.We are looking into it for exactly that reason, to see exactly what transpired.In an email to colleagues, Khobragade said she repeatedly told arresting authorities that she had diplomatic immunity only to suffer repeated searches as well as being jailed with common criminals.I must admit that I broke down many times as the indignities of repeated handcuffing, stripping and cavity searches, swabbing, in a hold up with common criminals and drug addicts were all being imposed upon me despite my incessant assertions of immunity," she said in the email published on the Times of India's website on Wednesday.I got the strength to regain composure and remain dignified thinking that I must represent all of my colleagues and my country with confidence and pride she said.
In the email, Khobragade implored the Indian government to ensure her safety and that of her children and preserve the dignity of the Indian diplomatic service which was unquestionably under siege.
Khobragade, 39-year-old deputy consul general at the consulate in New York, was arrested last Thursday on charges of visa fraud. She was released on the same day on $250,000 bond.
The US Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed in a statement on Tuesday Khobragade was strip-searched in their custody. But, it insisted, so are all others.Yes, Devyani Khobragade was subject to the same search procedures as other USMS arrestees the USMC said in reply to a question if she was strip-searched.
The USMC also said the Indian diplomat was kept in a cell with other inmates awaiting court proceedings. They may have included drug-addicts, but it did not specify.Devyani Khobragade was placed in the available and appropriate cell. Absent of a special risk or separation order, prisoners are typically placed in general population.But Khobragade’s detention was on review found to have been in accordance with USMS Policy Directives and Protocols said the agency charged with housing federal prisoners.At the same time, the state department said it expected India to fulfill its obligations under the Vienna Convention regarding the security for its missions and diplomats there.
It is my duty to bring the lady back and we have to restore her dignity and I will do it at any cost foreign minister Salman Khurshid told Parliament.
India upped the ante a
in a cell with other inmates, while hoping to prevent the episode from harming ties with India.
We don’t want this to negatively impact our bilateral relationship and we’ll keep talking it with them said state department spokesperson Marie Harf.That may be somewhat difficult at this juncture, given the outrage felt in India at the “barbaric” manner in which the diplomat marched off handcuffed, and then strip-searched.The US is not backing down on the arrest or the manner in which it was carried out, though it did say the incident is being reviewed.There are no indications that anything but appropriate measures were followed Harf said.But we do know this is sensitive.We are looking into it for exactly that reason, to see exactly what transpired.In an email to colleagues, Khobragade said she repeatedly told arresting authorities that she had diplomatic immunity only to suffer repeated searches as well as being jailed with common criminals.I must admit that I broke down many times as the indignities of repeated handcuffing, stripping and cavity searches, swabbing, in a hold up with common criminals and drug addicts were all being imposed upon me despite my incessant assertions of immunity," she said in the email published on the Times of India's website on Wednesday.I got the strength to regain composure and remain dignified thinking that I must represent all of my colleagues and my country with confidence and pride she said.
In the email, Khobragade implored the Indian government to ensure her safety and that of her children and preserve the dignity of the Indian diplomatic service which was unquestionably under siege.
Khobragade, 39-year-old deputy consul general at the consulate in New York, was arrested last Thursday on charges of visa fraud. She was released on the same day on $250,000 bond.
The US Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed in a statement on Tuesday Khobragade was strip-searched in their custody. But, it insisted, so are all others.Yes, Devyani Khobragade was subject to the same search procedures as other USMS arrestees the USMC said in reply to a question if she was strip-searched.
The USMC also said the Indian diplomat was kept in a cell with other inmates awaiting court proceedings. They may have included drug-addicts, but it did not specify.Devyani Khobragade was placed in the available and appropriate cell. Absent of a special risk or separation order, prisoners are typically placed in general population.But Khobragade’s detention was on review found to have been in accordance with USMS Policy Directives and Protocols said the agency charged with housing federal prisoners.At the same time, the state department said it expected India to fulfill its obligations under the Vienna Convention regarding the security for its missions and diplomats there.
.JPG)
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