Premier Andrew Fahie is claiming immunity from arrest and detention in the United States by virtue of his position as Virgin Islands premier — and demanding his immediate release from custody, according to a notice filed Monday by his lawyer.
That notice states that Mr. Fahie “hereby notices his invocation of all rights of and to immunity under international and domestic law, as the duly elected and sitting head of government of the Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory, including but not limited to immunity from arrest and detention, entitling him to immediate and unconditional release from detention by the United States.”
Lawyer Theresa Van Vliet, who filed the petition with associate Joyce A. Delgado, further wrote that the US government has recognised Mr. Fahie as the constitutional head of the VI, and that there “has been no known express waiver of the Hon. Fahie’s immunity conferred under international and domestic law.”
Attempts to reach Ms. Van Vliet and the Governor’s Office were not immediately successful.