Extradition experts say prince has no basis for hiding behind royal privilege to avoid Virginia Giuffre’s rape suit
Prince Andrew is reportedly hoping to use ‘royal immunity’ to avoid extradition to face a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, the alleged Epstein victim who says that Andrew raped and sexually abused her when she was under legal age. He has strenuously denied the allegations.
There has been widespread outrage at the idea that the prince might avoid facing his accuser and the ‘mainstream’ press has been reporting that he is ‘under mounting pressure not to invoke royal immunity’ to evade the prosecution – but legal analysis pre-dating the lawsuit says that he has nothing to ‘invoke’ in the first place.
A 2019 Times article quotes extradition law experts, who said emphatically that only Andrew’s mother has royal immunity:
Experts also said that he could not invoke diplomatic immunity for his actions as an individual.
Even if he had any entitlement to it, any attempt to invoke it would be a moral outrage – but if the Establishment pushes the pretence that he has a right to it in order to allow Andrew to hide behind his mother’s skirts, it will be lying to the people to deprive a victim of alleged rape her day in court.
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