Victim's Brother Demands Detained U.S. Official Be Hanged
Raymond Davis to be held for three more weeks while government decides immunity.
Feb. 17, 2011 — -- Moments after a Pakistani court once again rejected U.S. demands to release an American "technical advisor" accused in a deadly shooting, the brother of one of the shooting victims told reporters today he and his family demand Raymond Davis be executed.
"Our demand from the first day is that we want him hanged, nothing other than this," the man said after a court decided Davis would be detained for at least another three weeks while the Pakistani central government determines Davis' eligibility for immunity.
"We curse their money, visa and country," the man said, possibly referring to Pakistani news reports that the families have been offered financial compensation for their loss.
The wife of the same man who was shot committed suicide earlier this month, but not before telling local media she wanted Davis' "blood."
After the hearing, Cameron Munter, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, said today he was "disappointed" the Pakistani central government did not certify Davis as a diplomat and release him under diplomatic immunity.
Davis, 36, is accused of shooting and killing two men who the U.S. State Department said were trying to rob him. Ever since his arrest, mystery has surrounded the man President Barack Obama called "our diplomat."
In the days after the shooting, the U.S. State Department denied that the man in Pakistani custody was Raymond Davis, despite Pakistani officials, court documents and one source close to Davis saying otherwise. Eventually Davis was revealed to be a member of the embassy's "technical and administrative staff," but the State Department has refused to answer questions about his specific job in Pakistan. When Davis was arrested, he reportedly possessed a loaded gun, GPS equipment, pictures of what Pakistani police called "sensitive areas" of Pakistan, as well as a diplomatic passport.
Public records show Davis has experience with the U.S. Special Forces and runs a small security company that provides "loss prevention specialists," according to the company website which is no longer active.
Complicating matters, several Pakistani officials told ABC News that the men Davis allegedly shot were not small time criminals, but agents of the country's premier intelligence service, the ISI, who had been tracking Davis -- a claim the U.S. government vehemently denies.
Davis is being held in a "high security" prison where he is being treated like any other inmate, Carmela Conroy, the U.S. Consul General in Lahore, said Tuesday -- a claim disputed by a Pakistani lawyer today. That lawyer claimed in court today that Davis had access to alcohol, cell phones, television and "other things of pleasure."
"Ray is being treated like a regular prisoner," Conroy said earlier this week. "He has no access to a television, telephone, internet or any other electronic devices, and cannot communicate directly with his family."
Obama: Pakistan Recognizes Davis as a Diplomat
While the Pakistani central government may be taking three weeks to determine whether Davis should enjoy diplomatic immunity, U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday the matter is clear.
"We've got a very simple principle here that every country in the world that is party to the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations has upheld in the past and should uphold in the future, and that is, if our diplomats are in another country, then they are not subject to that country's local prosecution," Obama said in a press conference today. "We expect Pakistan, that's a signatory and recognizes Mr. Davis as a diplomat, to abide by the same convention... I'm not going to discuss the specific exchanges that we've had [with the Pakistani government], but we've been very firm about this being a priority."
Kerry: U.S. Will Open Criminal Investigation Into Shooting
Earlier Wednesday, Sen. John Kerry, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, left Pakistan without Davis after a short trip meant to help smooth over relations between Pakistan and the U.S.
"President Obama and Secretary Clinton have personally asked me to convey to the people of Pakistan our deepest sorrow for the loss of life that occurred there in that tragic incident," Kerry said before leaving the country. "And there is nothing that the United States wants more than to see those kinds of incidents disappear forever in the lives of Pakistanis and in our relationship. I was encouraged today in the meetings that I had in all levels of your government."
Upon landing in the country, Kerry told local media the U.S. Department of Justice would open a criminal investigation into the shooting should Raymond Davis be released.
"I think during the course of Senator Kerry's stay there, we made clear that with such incidents it is practice of the United States government to conduct its own criminal investigation," Crowley told reporters Wednesday. "And we intend to follow that practice here."
Taliban: Release Davis, Prepare to Die
On Sunday a spokesman for the Taliban said should Davis be released for any reason, the terrorist group would kill anyone involved.
"Whether he is a judge, police, lawyer, army, policy maker or a politician, we will target him. We will kill him," the spokesman told The Associated Press Sunday.
