What if you commit a crime in a foreign embassy or consulate?

First off, I am not contemplating committing any crime. I was just watching 24 Season 4 on DVD and an interesting plot twist got me thinking. What if a person were to violate the law (say, kidnapping) inside of a foreign embassy or consulate located in the United States? In the show, the main character was told he would be tried in China under Chinese law for a kidnapping committed inside the Chinese consulate. Would this be the case in real life?

Spotter 888

This answer is purely my opinion and have no legal basis to back it up. It will all depend on the kind of crime committed inside the walls of the embassy AND the status of the person committing the crime. If an ordinary citizen applying for a visa runs amok and hurts other visa applicants, if caught, that person will be turned over to local authorities to be prosecuted. If it was like the movie you saw, since the perpetrators are in fact Fed LEOs in the host country, the embassy may look at this as espionage and will want to prosecute them in their country.

George L

Well, they could shoot you and get away with it as they'd have diplomatic immunity. And, if the consul general was killed while you were running around stealing secrets, there's a good chance they would at least try. You could be charged under US law, but they might not want to have their consulate officers show up in court and be subject to examination under oath. But if they can kidnap you and put you on a slow boat to China, what's the US really going to do?

Efnissien

Yes, as embassies are sovreign territory and if captured you would face the weight of that countries law.
However, theoretically you could get away with crimes in a foreign embassy if you manage to escape. For example, I could burn a US flag (a federal crime- and a stupid one) and escape from the embassy. In the EU I would be able to say that an extradition would be violating my human rights by placing me in extreme danger of rape or worse, as I would be placed in a federal prison. A crime like murder though, would possibly depend upon the nation, somewhere like north Korea might let me get away with it if I committed it in the us embassy.

Adalia A

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