The Saudi diplomat in New Delhi who has been accused of holding two Nepalese women as sex slaves and gang-raping them has reportedly claimed diplomatic immunity and filed a report against local police for invading his private property. The Saudi Embassy conveyed the diplomat’s complaint to Indian officials on Wednesday, sources told The Indian Express. The Saudis protested the invasion of diplomatic property and voiced concern that “unwarranted media briefings” on allegations had been held before a proper investigation had been carried out. Indian authorities responded that police did not know the premises in the financial suburb of Gurgaon belonged to the Saudi diplomat when raiding the property to rescue two women. The suspect’s identity is known, but has not been disclosed. Police are said to have been informed about the sexual abuse by an NGO, Maiti Nepal India, which received a tip-off from a shocked newly-hired housemaid who ran away “within three days” of starting her job.
According to the 1961 Vienna Convention, to which India is a party, diplomatic immunity cannot be violated unless the diplomat’s country decides to waive it, making the chances of prosecution extremely unlikely. Meanwhile, shocking details of the women’s ordeal has been reported to the Indian media, uncovering not only the alleged perverse practices of Saudi diplomats, but also a human trafficking ring capitalizing on the plight of the Nepalese women in the aftermath of the deadly April 2015 earthquake. The second victim, a 44-year-old woman, revealed horrendous details of the time the two were held captive: “There were days when seven to eight men — all from Saudi Arabia — would assault us. If we resisted, the diplomat and his family would threaten to kill us and dispose of our bodies in the sewer.”
https://www.rt.com/news/314896-saudi-diplomat-rape-immunity/
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