Did you know the PDRM can't arrest you if you enter an embassy?

Last week a guy named Julian Assange was finally arrested by the British police. He’s known as the founder of wikileaks, which is a website that leaks sensitive government information. He has been wanted by a few enforcement authorities, but here’s the thing...the police knew exactly where he was for 7 years, but they didn’t and couldn’t arrest him.

Well there actually a few reasons why the British police couldn’t enter the embassy and had to wait 7 years, and the reasons would apply globally, Malaysia included. In fact, Malaysia had a similar situation when...

Anwar Ibrahim hid in the Turkish Embassy for 2 days

(2008)

Many of you would’ve remembered the second investigations and trial for Anwar’s sodomy case. There were a lot of things going on at that time, and one of it was when he sought refuge in the Turkish Embassy located on Jalan Tun Razak. According to Anwar, he chose to seek refuge at the Turkish Embassy because he was worried about his safety due to death threats.

There were no reports or rumours that stated that Anwar was in the embassy because he was avoiding arrest or investigations by the PDRM, but nevertheless the PDRM didn’t enter into the Turkish Embassy. Only after a couple of days, Anwar left the Embassy saying that he was assured his safety will be guaranteed.

Now this brings us back to question we asked earlier, why did Anwar Ibrahim feel safe at the embassy and why the police couldn’t get Assange despite knowing where he was?

Well this is because…

Embassies have immunity from local laws

- Diplomatic bags

If you love movies and TV shows, you may already know that embassies and their staff enjoy immunity from the law. Thus, the following hypothetical movie scene may be familiar:

An American police officer head towards the Canadian embassy in New York

As he’s about to enter, he gets blocked by the Canadian embassy official who says something that goes along the lines of:

”Sorry officer, you aren’t permitted to enter here. This is Canadian soil”

While it’s true that the hypothetical American police officer can’t enter the Canadian embassy in America, it’s NOT because Canadian embassy is considered to be on Canadian soil. Before we go give you the real reason, it’s important to know what embassy is for.

Diplomatic embassies along with their staff exist as representatives of their nations to the host nations. For example, the Malaysian embassy along with its staff in America would be representing the Malaysian government in America. Thus to do their job properly, the Malaysian embassy along with its staff receives legal immunity from American law.

Two international rules exist in international law to allow for such circumstances. According to the Vienna Convention:

Article 29:

Article 22:

(Embassy is not technically on foreign soil, but it’s the easiest way to understand it)

In simpler terms, these rules actually say that diplomats are not allowed to be arrested or face any legal action in the host country. In addition to that, the authorities of the host nation aren’t allowed to enter embassies and or take the embassies’ belongings. The legal reason isn’t because these embassies are technically considered foreign soil. The embassy is under the jurisdiction of the host state, but the laws of the host state doesn’t apply to the embassy and its staff.

So for example, technically the Turkish Embassy is considered to be under the jurisdiction of Malaysia, it’s just that Malaysian laws doesn’t apply to it. Therefore during Anwar’s stay at the Turkish Embassy, the PDRM couldn’t go in and catch him if they wanted to. And for Assange’s case, he was holed up inside the Ecuadorian Embassy for 7 years for that reason too. The only reason he’s arrested now is because the Ecuador Embassy finally permitted the London police to come in and arrest him.

They have immunity to do their job

Because embassies act as a conduit between their government and state government, it’s severely important that they’re allowed to do their jobs without worrying about interference. That’s why in addition to having immunity from the host state, the host state must also ensure the protection and safety of embassies and their staff.

Which is why when Japanese terrorists attacked the American Embassy in KL in 1975, the Malaysian government was quick to act to ensure their safety. However when things go the opposite way, it can have disastrous diplomatic consequences. For example when the government of Iran failed to protect the American Embassy from protesters in 1979, the incident resulted in almost no diplomatic relationship between America and Iran, as well as economic sanctions against Iran by America.