Diplomatic immunity facts

Qatari diplomat Mohammed al-Madadi caused a scare onboard a flight from Washington, D.C., to Denver by smoking in the bathroom. When confronted by U.S. marshals, he reportedly made a crack about lighting a bomb in his shoes and said he had diplomatic immunity. How far does diplomatic immunity go?



It would all depend on the rank of the Diplomat

Top diplomatic officers have full immunity, as do their deputies and families. That means ambassadors can commit just about any crime—from jaywalking to murder—and still be immune from prosecution. They can't be arrested or forced to testify in court. (This category would probably include al-Madadi, who serves as third secretary in the Qatari embassy.)

Lower-ranking officials have a weaker type of protection called "functional immunity." These officials are covered only for crimes committed within the scope of their regular work responsibilities. If, for example, a consular official got into a fistfight during a meeting with a U.S. official, he would be protected from prosecution. If the fight occurred at a bar over the weekend, he would not. Service staff for an embassy or consulate, from the kitchen employees to the valets, have no immunity whatsoever. And, contrary to popular belief, any diplomat can be issued a traffic citation. They just can't be forced to pay it

There are limits, of course: Diplomats can't go around shooting people without consequences. all though the consequences ARE NOT PRISON
The United States has the right to declare someone a persona non grata and to send him home for any reason. The official's home country can also try him at a local court. In the most egregious cases, the home country can waive the official's immunity privilege, in which case the offending diplomat can face prosecution in the United States. In 1997, for example, the Republic of Georgia waived the immunity of its No. 2 diplomat after he killed a 16-year-old girl from Maryland while driving drunk. He was prosecuted, convicted of manslaughter, and served three years in a North Carolina prison before returning to Georgia, where he was paroled after two more years in prison.

So Arjen in this movie would NOT be prosecuted for his crimes. the most likely action that would be taken is the state department would have him proclaimed Persona Non Grata and he would be forced to leave and be banned from the united states.


then the state department could request the South African Government to prosecute him or waive his Immunity and charge him the most likely course of action would be that he would be Declared Persona non Grata and South Africa would deny the state departments request to waive his immunity and would be charged in a South African Court and basically get a slap on the hand