A Sudanese diplomat sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman at Bar None, a bar located in New York East Village. But ... he was not arrested.
The diplomat, who has been identified >by the New York Daily News as 36-year-old Hassan Salih, groped the woman on Sunday while at the bar, caressing her breasts and buttocks.
The woman initially informed security personnel at the bar of the situation, who in turn called the police.
According to the local site, Salih attempted to run away from the police upon being detained.
However, police officers chased him down and drove him to a nearby police station.
During the interrogations, Salih informed the officers that he is a diplomat and supported his claim with evidence.
Due to diplomatic immunity laws, officials had to let him go.
Who is Salih?
In May, Salih was elected to represent Sudan on a UN committee that oversees non-governmental human rights organizations, according to UN Watch.
Salih is stationed at the Sudanese Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. He is considered a "second officer" - which is a mid-level position that requires 5-10 years of experience.
According to Al Arabiya, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating the case.
"The ministry has been in contact with the Permanent Mission to the United Nations and has immediately commenced investigating the case after media reports revealed the incident," al-Khidir said in his statement.
Not the first case of its kind
Diplomats are given immunity as prescribed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The treaty, which has been approved by 191 countries, states that "diplomats must not be liable to any form of arrest or detention."
Article 29 of the treaty protests diplomats from civil or criminal prosecution, ranging from incidents of sexual abuse to parking violations.
A tally in 2011 found that New York City was owed nearly $17 million in parking tickets issued to diplomats, according to Reuters.
The immunity card also provides family members of diplomats living in the host country the same protections.
Salih's case is not the first of its kind.
In 2016, Sudanese Mohammad Abdalla Ali, a diplomat at Sudan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, sexually assaulted a woman on a subway in Manhattan.
He had been charged with sexual abuse at the time but was immediately released due to his diplomatic immunity.