This is a new one on me!

I knew diplomatic immunity was extended to embassies and consulates, their personnel, and presumabye their living quarters if they're outside the compound.

I have never before seen it applied to an industrial site.

Anybody have any input on this one?

All sorts of crooks and swindlers are hiding their illegal activities behind diplomatic immunity. This place is manufacturing pirated CDs. They are criminals hiding behind diplomatic immunity. Russia should take them down and put them in jail.

FIGMENT, If this guy is crook who makes fake CD send him to Russian Jail, and later send him to Bulgarian Jail because he give Bulgaria very bad image.

Bill,

you can find the text of the treaty here:

http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf

Article 22 says clearly that "1.The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission" and that "3.The premises of the mission, their furnishings and other property thereon and the means of transport of the mission shall be immune from search, requisition, attachment or execution."

When the information given in the article is correct, it seems that the building enjoyed this immunity only until May 2009. Then its status as premises of a diplomatic mission has been cancelled. That means that the Russian security organs have the right to enter even against the will of any Bulgarian officials.

DrFaust:

Not interested enough to look up the treaty. Enough for me was the use of the word, mission. If the Russians want to consider the site a diplomatic mission, I guess that's their business.

Bill,

"If the Russians want to consider the site a diplomatic mission, I guess that's their business."

I think you missed something here.The Russians DON'T want to consider the site a diplomatic mission. If a site is to be considered a diplomatic mission is based on a bilateral agreement until it is cancelled. This was done by the Bulgarians in May 2009, so the site doesn't have this status any more and the Russians have the right to enter.

The Russians know very well what they were doing: stopping illegal activities on these premisses. And apparently Mr. Borisov agrees on that. The fact is that the BG diplomats overthere, also knew what was happening there. They should have cleaned the house before bringing the country in bad perspectives once more!

In fa

DrFaust:

Now that makes sense. At least it isn't the problem the New York Police have to deal with. Hundreds of illegally parked cars with diplomatic immunity from the UN headquarters.

In fact, I've witnessed some stories about members of the BG mission in Belgium (5-10 years ago). You cannot imagine what scandalous activities they have been into, all under the umbrella and on the expenses of the BG state, covered by immunity as commercial attaché. A SHAME!

And many people say good words about Mrs. Kuneva, but she also did not do a thing about it, although she knew quit well what was happening there, spending her time in Brussels. Same for Mrs. Grancharova! (or should I say Mrs. Passy or Passya or Passionata?).

Back in 1998 there were rumours that EU-VISA were for sale through the Belgian embassy in Sofia. One of those days, I had an appointment with the BE ambassador. Upon my arrival in the embassy, I found a total chaos. Brussels foreign affairs had (unanounced) send in a squad to check the whole business there. The ambassador appologized for the inconvenience (the man had lost all color), and months later, he was cleared by a Belgian court.

To my knowledge, the only time an action has been undertaken against a member of a BG mission, was the case with the ambassador in Berlin, who was found completely drunk by the German Polizei.

What a joke!

Philippe,

what I find even more puzzling than the incompetence of a part of the BG ambassadors and diplomats abroad (and the fact that many of them are mainly occupied with their private business activities) is that most of them are former(?) secret agents that got a hardcore KGB training and are personally involved and responsible for crimes committed by that system (or its aftermaths). But it is not surprising, in a country where a creature like Bozhidar Dimitrov is minister, and proud to be a criminal.