The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
December 19, 2013

India Asks U.S. to Drop Charges Against Diplomat; Kerry Voices "Regret" 
------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
India is calling on the United States to drop charges against a diplomat
accused of underpaying a domestic helper and committing visa fraud to
win her entry into the country. Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy
consul general in New York, was arrested last week and strip-searched,
prompting Indian government charges of mistreatment and potentially even
conspiracy. In Washington, a State Department spokesperson said
Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed "regret" to the Indian
government.

Marie Harf: "As a father of two daughters about the same age [as Devyani
Khobragade], the secretary empathizes with the sensitivities we are
hearing from India about the events that unfolded after the arrests. And
in his conversation with National Security Adviser Menon, he expressed
his regret, as well as his concern that we not allow this unfortunate
public incident to hurt our close and vital relationship with India."

 

.