American experts arrive in Pak to provide legal aid to Davis

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Source: Deccan Herald

Two American experts arrived in Pakistan today to provide legal aid to a US embassy official on trial for shooting and killing two armed men in Lahore in January, according to media reports.

The detention of private security contractor Raymond Davis triggered a serious diplomatic row between Pakistan and the US and ties between intelligence agencies of the two countries have plunged to a new low.

The US hired three Pakistani lawyers to defend Davis, whose claim of diplomatic immunity has been rejected by a court in Lahore. Sensing that Pakistani courts will proceed against Davis, the US has now sent two legal experts to aid him, TV news channels reported.

The American experts will meet Davis at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, where he is being held, and discuss the cases against him, the reports said. In addition, the experts will hold a meeting with the families of the men killed by Davis, the reports said.


Read more: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/143365/american-experts-arrive-pak-provide.html

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1. Raymond davis: Petition challenging jail transfer rejected

LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the possible shifting double murder accused, US citizen Raymond Davis, to Adiyala Jail, Rawalpindi from Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore.

Admonishing the lawyer, Rana Ilamud Din Ghazi, the CJ said that the court cannot issue any orders based on presumptions. The CJ said that Ghazi had filed a useless and premature petition. He asked the lawyer how he had come to know that Raymond was being shifted to Adiyala Jail.

“Have you dreamt about his shifting?” CJ questioned the petitioner angrily. Advocate Ilamudin Ghazi had filed the petition expressing apprehension that Raymond would be shifted to Adiyala Jail from where the government could easily extradite him to the US.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/127866/raymond-davis-petition-challenging-jail-transfer-rejected/

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2. U.S., Pakistan could use a Muslim ritual to resolve Raymond Davis case

Apparently "Muslim rituals" can be expedient from time to time.

One way out of the mess surrounding the Jan. 27 arrest in Lahore of CIA contractor Raymond Davis, say senior U.S. and Pakistani officials, is a Muslim ritual for resolving disputes known as "blood money."

This approach would require a prominent Islamic intermediary - perhaps from Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates - who would invite relatives of the two men Davis killed to the Gulf. Payment to the victims' families could then be negotiated quietly. Once the next of kin had agreed to this settlement, the legal case against Davis for murder might be moot in a Pakistani court.

A senior Pakistani official in Washington outlined this "blood money" concept in a conversation Monday. An official of that country's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate also endorsed this approach; he said it had the advantage of meshing with the dispute-resolution customs of the Middle East and South Asia.

Asked about such a third-party mediation to free Davis, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday: "The United States is open to exploring any and all options that could resolve this matter. . . . It's in our mutual interest to move beyond the Davis issue, and we believe the Pakistanis understand the stakes involved."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030105704.html

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3. Islamists court victims of CIA contractor in Pakistan, warn against 'blood money' payment

LAHORE, Pakistan — Since his brother was shot and killed by an American CIA contractor last month, scores of Islamist politicians have met with Waseem Shamzad in his bare sitting room to bring sympathy, offers of help and a stark message: if U.S. envoys come offering "blood money" to get their man out of jail, tell them to go away.

Shamzad and two other families mourning a dead relative because of the shooting say America has not offered compensation yet, but Pakistani officials have suggested such payments could help end a crisis that has exposed the fragility of ties between the two nations.

While the United States insists Raymond Allen Davis, the detained CIA contractor, has immunity from prosecution, his lawyer said Friday that "bloody money" was "not just a good way, but the best way" to resolve the issue. The United States has not commented on whether it intends to try that approach, either formally or as a way of cooling popular anger if Davis is freed on other grounds.

The families, meanwhile, say they want justice, not money.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iYc1ktOTdJ9Cmc2ygJO4VDU4K3Ng?docId=6149935

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4. There will be a monetary settlement

courtesy of U.S taxpayers