Diplomat accused of hitting wife goes home due to immunity
WASHINGTON- A diplomat accused of hitting his wife in New York has returned to his home in Germany after his government refused a U.S. request to waive his immunity, the State Department said Friday.
Spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. asked the German government last month to drop its immunity for Joachim Haubrichs. But Toner said Germany rejected the request earlier this week, and Haubrichs and his wife have since left the United States.
"We have confirmed that Mr. Haubrichs has returned to Germany," Toner told The Associated Press.
New York prosecutors believed there was sufficient evidence to convict Haubrichs of misdemeanor. Haubrichs worked at Germany's mission to the United Nations.
