After Being Indicted, Diplomat Is Allowed to Leave the Country

After Being Indicted, Diplomat Is Allowed to Leave the Country
January 09, 2014 By BENJAMIN WEISER NEW YORK TIMES

NEW DELHI — An Indian diplomat whose recent arrest in New York caused an uproar in her home country was on a plane bound for her homeland, Indian officials said Friday, a day after she was indicted in the United States.

Later on Friday, India requested that the United States withdraw a diplomat of similar rank from New Delhi, said an Indian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The departure of the envoy, Devyani Khobragade, the deputy consul general in New York, came two days after she was accorded the full privileges and immunities of a diplomat — a set of rights not usually extended to consular officers. A statement from India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs about her departure said the United States had asked India to waive her immunity, but t India had declined to do so and transferred her to a new position at the ministry in Delhi. The State Department then told her to leave the United States, which she did Thursday night.

When she departed for India, Ms. Khobragade “reiterated her innocence on the charges filed against her,” said the ministry statement. “She also affirmed her determination to ensure that the episode would not leave a lasting impact on her family, in particular, her children, who are still in the United States.”

Ms. Khobragade, 39, was arrested on Dec. 12 on a criminal complaint charging her with visa fraud and making false statements in connection with her treatment of a domestic worker, Sangeeta Richard, who prosecutors said had been overworked and underpaid by Ms. Khobragade.

The decision by Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, to seek the indictment indicated that negotiations to try to resolve the case through a plea bargain had broken down.

But the revelation that Ms. Khobragade had received immunity and been told to leave the country suggested that a separate understanding had been reached with other United States officials, with the goal of relaxing tensions with India.

Ms. Khobragade’s lawyer, Daniel N. Arshack, said his client was pleased that the State Department “did the right thing” by recognizing the diplomatic status to which Ms. . Khobragade “has always been entitled.”

“She is pleased to be returning to her country,” he added. “Her head is held high. She knows she has done no wrong and she looks forward to assuring that the truth is known.”

Ms. Khobragade’s husband, an American citizen, and her children remain in the United States. Her father, Uttam Khobragade, said in a televised news conference Friday that his daughter’s family would travel to India in the near future.

He said his daughter had made a principled stand in the wake of her arrest, refusing an offer to drop the charges if she paid a fine and admitted wrongdoing. Last week, Mr. Khobragade, who has headed food and housing agencies in the state of Maharashtra and has said he now plans to enter politics, picketed the American Consulate in Mumbai.

“She, as a proud Indian, gives more importance to the sovereignty of this country and the integrity of the judicial system of India than the relief that she was being offered,” he said. “She decided that my country’s sovereignty is more dearer to me than my personal life and comfort at this moment.”

The housekeeper, Ms. Richard, said in a statement issued through Safe Horizon, a victim services agency that has been representing her, “I would like to tell other domestic workers who are suffering as I did: you have rights and do not let anyone exploit you.”

The indictment accused Ms. Khobragade of illegally underpaying Ms. Richard and exploiting her. It said he diplomat had confiscated Ms. Richard’s passport and never returned it. Ms. Richard worked 94 to 109 hours a week, the indictment said, with limited breaks for calls and meals.

Last June, the indictment said, Ms. Richard visited Ms. Khobragade’s office at the Indian Consulate in New York and said she was unhappy with her work conditions and wanted to return home. Ms. Khobragade refused the request and would not return her passport, the indictment says.

Later that month, Ms. Richard finally left and ultimately turned to Safe Horizon, which helps trafficking victims.

Almost immediately, Ms. Khobragade and others took steps to prevent her from communicating with lawyers and others, the government charged.

The indictment describes a series of efforts to intimidate Ms. Richard and her family. It says Ms. Khobragade and a relative repeatedly called Ms. Richard’s husband in India, pressuring him to disclose her location in New York. Ms. Khobragade also took legal action in India against Ms. Richard. In November, based on a complaint by Ms. Khobragade, an arrest warrant was issued in India charging Ms. Richard with extortion and cheating.

Mr. Arshack has called the charges against Ms. Khobragade “false and baseless.”

Mr. Bharara’s office, writing to a federal judge on Thursday, said the criminal charges against Ms. Khobragade would remain pending.

“We will alert the court promptly if we learn that the defendant returns to the United States in a nonimmune capacity,” the prosecutors told Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, “at which time the government will proceed to prosecute this case and prove the charges in the indictment.”

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