Riots in Pakistan after double murder-accused Davis ‘buys’ freedom
Riots broke out on the streets of Pakistan following the revelation that double murder-accused CIA contractor Raymond Davis was released over a 'blood-money' deal, and hundreds of protesters attempted to attack the US Consulate building in Lahore on Wednesday evening.
Davis' release sparked countrywide angry protests, and a large number of protesters - mostly belonging to religious and opposition political parties - converged outside the Lahore Press Club soon after the local media flashed the news. Tehrik-e-Insaaf and Jamaat-i-Islami activists were leading the protests as they blocked the busy road by setting tyres on fire, creating a traffic mess in the highly sensitive and busy location of the city. As the angry protesters tried to attack the US consulate, dozens of them sustained injuries as the police resorted to baton-charge to disperse the protesters.
The News: Pakistan court releases Raymond Davis - An Additional Sessions judge Wednesday set free CIA contractor Raymond Davis, who killed two Pakistanis on a busy road in Lahore, after payment of blood money (Diyat) in accordance with Sharia law of Pakistan, sources said. The families of the murdered men, Fahim and Faizan, accepted the blood money of 2.34 million dollars (equal to Rs200 million) while, according to sources, four US visas were also part of the deal. Blood money, or ‘Diyat’ is a provision under Islamic sharia law in which compensation can be paid to relatives of those killed to secure a pardon, and is commonly used to resolve such cases in Pakistan.
The News: U.S. denies paying blood money for Davis release - The U.S. government did not pay any compensation to the families of two Pakistanis killed by Raymond Davis, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday. "The United States did not pay any compensation or blood money," Clinton told reporters in Cairo. Asked who paid the families, she replied: "You will have to ask the families." Asked if the Pakistani government had paid compensation, the U.S. secretary of state said: "you will have to ask the Pakistani government."
AWIP: CIA Contractor Raymond Davis Organized Terrorist Activities
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