During the memorial service to the victims of the Ukrainian airliner crash at the University of Tehran, supporters of the Iranian authorities burned a cardboard figure of the British Ambassador.
Iranian judicial authorities have declared British Ambassador Rob McAir persona non grata. This was reported by The Guardian.
The representative of the judicial authorities of the country Gholamhossain Esmaily accused the diplomat of “interference in the internal affairs of Iran” and demanded his expulsion from the country.
“Under international law, such a person is “persona non grata”. People expect this person to be expelled and international law also calls for this”, – Esmaily said.
The country’s judiciary has taken such measures after Ambassador Makeira was briefly arrested over the weekend and charged with “coordinating” anti-government protests.
Diplomatic spat between Iran & UK continues after British ambassador was briefly detained at a protest. Judiciary spox says he didn’t respect intl. law & should be expelled, as he is ‘persona non grata’ in #Iran. Hardliners burn effigy of ambassador along with US & UK flags. pic.twitter.com/WwFdLZBogi
— Ali Arouzi (@aliarouzi) January 14, 2020
On Tuesday, during the commemoration of the victims of the Ukrainian airliner crash at the University of Tehran, supporters of the Iranian government burned a cardboard figure of the British ambassador. Flags of Great Britain and the USA were also on fire along with the stuffed diplomat.
Declaring Macaire persona non grata was not considered formal, and therefore does not imply legal consequences.
Under international law, an ambassador has diplomatic immunity, so he cannot be prosecuted.