General view taken on May 5, 2010 showing Pantheon mausoleum and Eiffel Tower, two of main architectural and touristical sights in Paris. AFP PHOTO ERIC PIERMONT (Photo by ERIC PIERMONT / Agence France-Presse)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand diplomat was involved in a “security incident” in Paris, officials in Wellington said Saturday, amid reports the individual was beaten and robbed at home.
“We can confirm that there has been a security incident involving a New Zealand Embassy staff member in Paris,” a spokesperson for New Zealand’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The Embassy is supporting the staff member involved and is cooperating with French authorities. We are not commenting further out of respect for our staff member’s privacy.”
The condition of the unnamed New Zealand diplomat was not given.
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According to the Times of London, a 34-year-old diplomat was assaulted by two men who forced their way into the victim’s Paris flat on Thursday afternoon.
The embassy staff member was reportedly tied up, hit in the face with a pistol, and robbed before his assailants left in a vehicle with stolen number plates.
The robbery in Paris’s affluent seventh arrondissement, a district home to many of the city’s most famous sites including the Eiffel Tower, is under investigation, the New York Times reported.