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CIA Contractor Raymond Davis Sprung from Murder Rap in Pakistan after US Pays 'Blood Money'
By Dave Lindorff
Raymond Davis, the CIA contractor indicted for the murder of two young Pakistani motorcyclists, whom he gunned down in the back in broad daylight through his car windshield in a busy section of Lahore, Pakistan, has been freed, after the payment of $2.34 million in “blood money,” called diyya, to relatives of the two slain men.
The surprise “deal,” which Pakistani news reports are saying appears to have been forced on the relatives of the two men, who up to March 15 had insisted they wanted no blood money, but only justice, was announced in a court session March 16 in Lahore, at which the prosecution’s case of murder was to have been presented.
Both the US Ambassador, who expressed regret for the killings and gratitude to the victims’ families for their “generosity” in asking for the pardon, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied that they had paid any blood money for a deal, but that did not mean the CIA didn’t put up the cash. The New York Times (which withheld for two weeks at the behest of the White House information it had that Davis was a CIA contractor, even as it reported the official US lie that he was a "diplomat") is reporting that a "new" counsel" representing the families of Davis's victims, Raja Irshad, is saying the blood money was paid by the Pakistani government, but it, and the Wall Street Journal, are both also reporting that the US is reimbursing Pakistan. A more likely ultimate source of the funds is the CIA, which operates with a “black budget,” free of outside scrutiny.
The integrity of this “deal” is in question, though, with Pakistani media reporting that the two families suspiciously “went missing” several days before the hearing, with some having been seen taken away by unidentified men. They were delivered, also by unidentified men, to the court the day of the hearing, where each was asked by the judge if they pardoned Davis, and if they had received the blood money required under the country’s Sharia Law. Each reportedly applied affirmatively to both questions.
The 19 have subsequently vanished, leading to charges in Pakistan that they were compelled to accept a deal, and have subsequently left the country, fearing retaliation from groups that were demanding that Davis face trial for murder.
Lawyers for the families, who disclosed the size of the payment, say they too were held captive before the trial. “I and my associate were kept in forced detention for hours,” said the attorney for the family of one of the slain men, Faizan Haider.
A cousin of Haider, Aijaz Ahmed, was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor as saying eight members of his immediate family had gone missing since news of the deal.
The Express Tribune, an English-language daily in Pakistan partly owned by the International Herald Tribune,reports that lawyers for the two families claim both families’ members were “forcibly taken to Kot Lahkpat Jail by unidentified men and made to sign papers pardoning Davis.”...
For the rest of this article by DAVE LINDORFF in ThisCantBeHappening!, the new independent online alternative newspaper, please go to: ThisCantBeHappening!
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Hey kidz!!! So, who OWNS "Raymond Davis" now??? . . . ;-)
Dave Lindorff writes:
"Raymond Davis, the CIA contractor indicted for the murder of two young Pakistani motorcyclists, . . . has been freed, after the payment of $2.34 million in 'blood money,' called diyya, to relatives of the two slain men."
Okay . . . we now know that a "deal" was made. According to some sources, a "deal" the families "could not refuse" . . .
(clippped 16Mar11 headline and article from Veterans Today)
"VETERANS TODAY EXCLUSIVE: RAYMOND DAVIS RELEASE - . . .Tonight, Afzal, the uncle of Shumaila, the widow of one of the slain men who had committed suicide, went on Pakistani television. He told the audience, moments ago: 'Family members were told they were being taken to the police station to make statements. Instead, they were taken to a secret location and held in isolation and told that unless they signed a letter pardoning Davis, 'you will never see daylight.''"
(full story)
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/03/16/veterans-today-exclusve-raymond-...
Nevertheless, the "deal" was made, money changed hands ($2.34 Million USD), and "Raymond Davis", or whatever his real name is, was released and flown out of Pakistan . . .
What this ol' fool from North Cackilacki wants to know is, "WHO paid the 'blood money' bill???" . . . "Who OWNS 'Raymond Davis'???"
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary "I Made An Example of Ray McGovern" Clinton says that the U.S. Government did not pick up the tab.
(clipped text from above article by Dave Lindorff)
"Both the US Ambassador, who expressed regret for the killings and gratitude to the victims’ families for their 'generosity' in asking for the pardon, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denied that they had paid any blood money for a deal . . ."
So, I spent the morning trying to find someone to tell me who coughed up the $2.34 MILLION USD to buy "Raymond Davis" . . .
First I went to the big three traditional U.S. Media Sources; ABC, CBS, and NBC. . . now in "Zion-vision" . . . ;-)
ABC told me that "Raymond Davis" was a CIA Contractor and that it was $2.4 MILLION USD, not $2.34 MILLION USD . . . but :
(clipped headline and article from ABC News)
"'Blood Money' Deal Frees CIA Contractor Raymond Davis From Pakistan Court Documents: $2.4 Million Paid to Families of Shooting Victims . . .U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters the U.S. did not pay any compensation directly to the victims' families, but a senior White House official told ABC News the U.S. government expects to 'receive a bill for money paid to the families' and the administration plans on paying that bill."
(full story)
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/cia-contractor-raymond-davis-freed-pakista...
CBS told me there was no such story, but I now know from their "top stories" that "'American Idol' contestants give birth to old songs" and "Jimmy Fallon thanks Tiger for courage, comedy" . . . ;-)
MSNBC also told em there was no such story, but from their "top stories" I now know that "Ouch! Why hangovers get worse as we get older" and "Florida man wins lottery, must visit mom" . . . ;-)
So, I still couldn't tell me the answer to the simple question of WHO paid the "blood money" . . .
I even went to PBS . . . those damn Palestinian loving "anti-Semites" . . . no, wait that's NPR, right? . . . ;-)
(clipped headline and article from PBS)
"Pakistani Court Acquits CIA Contractor of Murders - A Pakistani court in Lahore has acquitted CIA contractor Raymond Davis of murder . . . Relatives of the victims confirmed receiving "blood money" in the case and were in court for the acquittal. The exchange is allowed by Pakistani law."
(full story)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/03/us-contractor-acquitted-in-d...
Hmmm, no answers there, either.
It seems like such a simple question that any newbie journalist would have included in their "Who, What, When, Where, Why, How" story . . .
So, even though we don't know WHO paid the "Blood Money" . . . I guess it is safe to say at this point that even though the man who calls himself "Raymond Davis" has been acquitted of the murders and has left Pakistan . . .
. . . he is FAR from being a "Free Man" . . .
. . . somebody "OWNS" him . . . ;-)
"You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody."
- "Gotta Serve Somebody" by Bob Dylan
peace.