A United Nations diplomat was arrested and released Sunday due to diplomatic immunity after allegedly raping an unnamed woman over the weekend, law enforcement authorities said Monday.
The diplomat, Charles Dickens Imene Oliha, who works for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in South Sudan, was brought in by the New York Police Department and questioned for Sunday’s attack before confirming that the diplomat was protected from any charges under diplomatic immunity, police said, according to the New York Post.
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Oliha reportedly spotted the woman, who lived in his apartment complex, while she was walking a neighbor’s dog and told her he would be coming upstairs with her, according to a police report obtained by the New York Post. The woman responded that Oliha could not come up with her, but he did anyway and allegedly forced himself inside the apartment.
A South Sudanese diplomat Charles Dickens Imene Oliha was briefly detained over rape charges in New York, United States. According to report, 46-year-old Oliha, forced his away into the victim house where he raped her twice. pic.twitter.com/FbFLoAQWTG
— SOUTH SUDAN EAGLES MEDIA TV (@ssemtv) August 23, 2022
The woman then claims she was raped twice, according to the report. The woman, who was in shock over the incident, went to sleep before filing the police report, which she did at the urging of a friend. She has since been transported to the Columbia University Medical Center for medical attention, the outlet added.
“It’s incredibly disturbing that someone who is accused of rape cannot be held accountable no matter what the facts,” Jane Manning, the director of the Women’s Equal Justice project and a former sex crimes prosecutor, told the New York Post. “I hope that the NYPD detectives will still do a full and thorough investigation to establish what the evidence shows.”
Diplomatic immunity was established to protect foreign diplomats from legal action from local courts and authorities when it comes to engaging in personal and official activities.
The deputy permanent representative for the embassy, Cecilia Adeng, said the embassy was not aware of the incident on Monday but would discuss the allegation with Oliha when he returns to the office.
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“Of course, this is not something that’s tolerable at all,” Adeng told the outlet. “So we’ll be reporting to our headquarters and seeing what’s going on.”
