Criminal law, International, Society

Qatar Prince Who Claimed Immunity In High-Speed Chase Flees The Country

Screen Shot 2015-09-15 at 8.29.43 PMWe have been discussing the controversy over a man from Qatar who went on a dangerous high-speed chase in a yellow Ferrari and then both threatened a reporter and claimed diplomatic immunity. He informed the reporter that he could kill him with utter immunity from prosecution and topped off that threat by saying “F*** America.” It is now confirmed that this disgraceful thug is a member of Qatar’s ruling family: Sheik Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar’s ruling family. Al-Thani claimed immunity but does not actually have it. However, by some incredible sequence of events, Al-Thani was allowed to flee the country to avoid any accountability.


Al-Thani had been staying at the Beverly Wilshire hotel and started the race between his Ferrari LaFerrari and a Porsche 911 GT3 in Beverly Hills.

After discussing the matter with the U.S. State Department and the Qatar consulate, authorities concluded he did not have immunity. However, as Qatar engaged with the State Department, someone alerted Al-Thani and got him out of the country. He proved to be correct. He is immune. He can endanger average citizens and even kill one. Not because he has diplomatic immunity but because he is a Qatari prince who can simply take a flight out of the country.

Now here is the curious question. How can the Administration be engaged with a foreign government over the possible arrest of a Qatari but not place a hold or secure an agreement to avoid his leaving the country. While there was a paucity of evidence on identifying the driver, Al-Thani could have been brought into the police station for questioning, particularly since the reporter alleged assault. We presumably still track people leaving the country. Yet, it seems that (while discussing the problem) the problem was allowed to solve itself by hopping a plane.

Source: LA Times

55 thoughts on “Qatar Prince Who Claimed Immunity In High-Speed Chase Flees The Country”

  2. I called it.

    In the previous article I said this looked like a royal behaving badly.

    🙂

  4. The Saudi’s have a thousand empty air conditioned tents ready for mecca, why not house all these hostages in them

  6. Annie,
    Welcome to the Land of, “It’s Never When We Do”…
    … It’s never bowing before a King when Bush bowed too.

  7. Obama released 5 evil incarnate Taliban and trusted Qatar to “supervise” them. That was, of course, for traitor coward Bowe Bergdahl, whose pretrial hearings have begun. It was a despicable and stupid act to make that swap. Worst President in my lifetime.

  9. Oh my gosh, George bush bowing to regional traditional king of Ghana

    Yes and quite properly so.

    Equal bowing as respectful equals. This is diplomacy. Show respect but do not put yourself into the inferior/powerless posture. Equals bowing, shaking hands and looking each other in the eye. Not one person almost kneeling on the floor abasing themselves averting their eyes from the powerful person and showing weakness.

  10. I don’t know why the tone of this piece is upset. This is the system you adore!!! Have enough coin and status and immunity is a given! I guess since the guy is from Qatar (where most people are practicing Muslims) the tone instantly changes on here.

    One’s political opinions usually aligns with where their paycheck is coming from…. If a George Washington Law Professor cared about justice(or most law professors for that matter), even in the slightest, this post would be about the fact that no executives at GM were arrested for covering up a deadly defect in its product(s). Nothing here on that… or if it’s discussed it will be under the auspices of the glories of the free market….

    Yet, when several Africans rebel against our empire and loot a store (Delwood Market story) a phone number is listed to report those “animals” and you label them “thugs”. For much more lethal action (say our use of nuclear weapons, drone strikes, long history of minority oppression) there are crickets… lots of them. No use of the term thug would ever be used for a statesman or respected, property owning member of society – it has not ever according to the record.

    GW Law allows me to have property, and the Founding Fathers allowed only white men that owned much property to have a say in our empire, so it’s the duty to support nearly all laws protecting the use of private property. That’s the summary of most positions on here, and justice finds no place in this warped perspective.

    1. chipkelly – I think someone with immunity from the embassy in Qatar should take up street racing.

  11. The people who need to be bowed to have very little else. The Saudi royalty and Iranian Imams etc are as vapid and useless as they come. They can push and shove a little but amount to next to nothing. Western leaders and diplomats are not kowtowing to these guys by bowing but simply saying, ‘If this means that much to you, well sure, your highness, holiness, your bigness, your contour sheet, etc.’

    You can read all you want into it but that just puts you in the same boat as these clowns.

Comments are closed.