US diplomat kills two Pakistanis in Lahore

[Gerald]

An American diplomat in the Pakistani city of Lahore has shot and killed a Pakistani motorcycle rider and his pillion passenger, police say.

Police told the AFP news agency that the American fired his pistol in self-defence. US embassy officials confirmed that an American was involved.Police say that the men were pursuing the American in his car.A pedestrian was also killed by a speeding car from the US consulate which came to help, police say.

Police told the Reuters news agency that they were investigating whether the two men on the motorcycle were robbers.

Weapons had been recovered from the bodies of the dead men, police said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12298546

Note: 27 January 2011 Last updated at 14:08 GMT

[CCIP]

Sounds like something out of the Wild West to me. Perhaps an apt comparison to the current state of things in Pakistan

[Matador.es]

Interesting!

[Torvald Von Mansee]

"Diplomatic staff usually enjoy a certain type of immunity, but I am not sure about murder," he said. "We will consult the Foreign Office and legal advisers in this regard."

I do believe diplomatic immunity is absolute, and this guy NEVER should have even been taken into custody, let alone held. The U.S. government could waive that immunity, but I suspect not.

This would certainly not be the first time an Islamic country didn't respect a country's diplomatic status.

[FIREWALL]

HAPPY ENDING.

[Platapus]

Was this guy a diplomat or a consular? The rules are a little different between the two.

Chances are he will just be PNGed, but that can affect his continuing career.

Was this guy a diplomat or a consular? The rules are a little different between the two.

The claim is that he wasn't diplomatic and didn't have local firearms permits.
If that claim is true (which seems likely given that they got away with holding him) then he is buggered until uncle sam makes a generous offer

[Platapus]

There you go. Not every one who works at an embassy or consulate has Diplomatic immunity.

If this guy is a low level employee and not Intel, the US will send a few strongly worded letters and then let him rot, I am afraid.

If this guy is a low level employee and not Intel, the US will send a few strongly worded letters and then let him rot, I am afraid.

There is a lot of speculation that he is Intel.
The US govt. seem to be making some big noise while the consulate itself and the embassy are playing it very different.
The driver of the second vehicle is likely to be facing charges relating to the 3rd fatality but should get limited immunity as it was work related.

[Gerald]

LAHORE, Pakistan – A Pakistani court ordered the government Tuesday not to release an American official arrested in the shooting deaths of two Pakistanis despite U.S. insistence that he has diplomatic immunity and has been detained illegally.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Chaudhry also told the government to place the American on the "exit control list" so that he cannot leave the country. Some legal experts questioned whether the court had the authority to issue such orders, but the rulings could further complicate what has become a serious diplomatic spat between the two countries.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad has argued that the American, who it has not named, acted in self-defense when he shot the two men in Lahore last Thursday because they were trying to rob him at gunpoint. It has issued several statements insisting he has diplomatic immunity and demanding he be released.

A copy of the American's passport obtained by The Associated Press identifies him as 36-year-old Raymond Allen Davis.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02...rican-suspect/


Note Update record, Published February 01, 2011

The plot thickens, what exactly is the status of a private security contractor when it comes to diplomacy?
Could they call him a mercenary or a spy and charge him for that too just for a laugh since it increasingly appears he has no immunity status.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Tribesman

The plot thickens, what exactly is the status of a private security contractor when it comes to diplomacy?
Could they call him a mercenary or a spy and charge him for that too just for a laugh since it increasingly appears he has no immunity status.

A private security contractor would have no such status. And yes, depending on the interpretation of mercenary he could be charged as such.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Originally Posted by Tribesman

The plot thickens, what exactly is the status of a private security contractor when it comes to diplomacy?
Could they call him a mercenary or a spy and charge him for that too just for a laugh since it increasingly appears he has no immunity status.

You're only gleeful because the guy is American.

Pathetic, really.

You're only gleeful because the guy is American.

What planet are you on?

Oh I get it.....

I do believe diplomatic immunity is absolute, and this guy NEVER should have even been taken into custody, let alone held.

....planet clueless in the CAPS LOCK system.

[Jimbuna]

If it turns out he has no immunity then his only mitigation can be self defence.

The moral being....don't try to rob somebody whilst carrying firearms if they are also armed.