DAWN.com
Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor, charged with double murder after shooting dead two men in Lahore refused to sign a charge sheet in court Friday and insisted he had diplomatic immunity, lawyers said.
The hearing in the murder case against Davis took place amid high security in Kot Lakphat jail in Lahore where he is being held, and was adjourned until March 3.
“Davis refused to sign the copy insisting that he be released and claiming that he enjoys immunity,” public prosecutor Abdul Samad told AFP.
Samad said that Davis, who claimed he acted in self-defence when he shot the men in a busy Lahore street last month, was handcuffed during the hearing which was guarded by more than 300 armed police officers in and around the prison.
A separate legal process to determine the diplomatic immunity issues returns to the Lahore High Court on March 14.
Revelations that Davis was a CIA contractor have heaped pressure on Pakistan’s government and further ramped up burning public mistrust of Washington.
A third Pakistani was struck down and killed by a US diplomatic vehicle that came to Davis’s assistance. US officials denied Pakistan access to the vehicle and the occupants are widely believed to have left the country.
Police have said they recovered a Glock pistol, four loaded magazines, a GPS navigation system and a small telescope from Davis’ car after the January 27 shooting.
US Consul General Carmela Conroy and other American officials were present at Friday’s hearing.
Asad Manzoor Butt, lawyer for the families of the men who were shot dead, rejected the American’s immunity claim.
“We have also received copies of the charge sheet. We will pursue this case as we want Davis to be punished for his act. We believe he does not enjoy immunity,” he said.
Samad has said that the immunity case before the Lahore High Court would not affect the murder charge hearings, unless the higher court barred them from proceeding.
Washington is pushing hard for Pakistan to free Davis, arguing that he has immunity and backing his claim that he acted in self-defence.
The United States postponed a round of high-level talks with Afghanistan and Pakistan following failed attempts to get Davis out, and US lawmakers threatened to cut payments to Pakistan unless he is freed.
Find this article in Pakistani - Dawn.com - posting here At this same URL find the following links - as well:
US national arrested in Peshawar for illegal stay
‘851 US officials enjoy diplomatic immunity in Pakistan’
US ‘ready to mend Pakistan ties’
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Also see the reports trickling in on DemocracyNoW.org
3 comments:
LAHORE: Raymond Davis’s alleged family reached Pakistan between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, DawnNews reported.
The alleged family that arrived at Allama Iqbal International Airport included a woman, two men and three children. They were escorted out of the airport under high security arrangements and were taken to an unidentified location.
The vehicles that were carrying Davis’s alleged family had false number plates, DawnNews reported.
The name of the man and the woman, listed in their traveling documents, were as Randy Field and Beth Page, claimed sources.
According to sources, two individuals with similar names had previously been deployed in Pakistan, as USAID employees.
The US Embassy and the Pakistani officials have not yet accepted nor rejected any claims.
Plz be sure to notice the articles also trickling in at the Washington Post (a little more revealing and helpful than most such rights items on Wash Post)
One latest indicated that a former CIA officer is recommending to current leaders that blood $ be given to the family of the murdered. Catch is this same "consultant" or would-be "consultant" also helped head up the US arming of the Contras sometime back in the 80's against the Sandinistas. This was a CIA choosing to prop up a US puppet dictator in order to control military, political and big business interests for the US but NOT for the common people.
Keep watching either here and or at nomorecrusades and see back posts on this and related issues on both sites.
A few key items on this site -- such as those about Ray Davis and Aafia Siddiqui may be reposted currently & may or may not be removed temporarily or permanently due to a lot of spam on these topics. This is my next step before reporting to key places (maybe including US authorities as the spam is often lewd & sometimes threatening --at least to attempt to engage readers to sign links that look suspicious. Plz don't click on any such -- in case I miss these.)
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