International arrest warrant on Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu suspended

Luni, 26 aprilie 2010, 15:27 English | Regional Europe

The Singapore Foreign minister said Monday that an international arrest warrant issued on the name of Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu, who left Singapore despite being involved in a car accident, has been suspended, according to Straits Times. The suspension came due to different ways of how authorities in Singapore and Romania read an article of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Rights.

According to Singapore minister George Yeo, Romania sent a diplomatic note on Friday saying that Silviu Ionescu was still subject of diplomatic immunity in the case of a December 15 car accident in Singapore, in which Ionescu was involved and which led to the death of one person. According to Straits Times, Yeo said "it seems to imply that Romania is now claiming that Dr Ionescu was engaged in official duties at the time of the accident and we do not understand how this can possibly be the case".

Yeo said the international arrest warrant was suspended because Romanian authorities read an article of the Vienna Convention differently. According to Singapore government, a diplomat loses immunity for private acts once he leaves his post in the host country.