US invokes diplomatic immunity for man detained in Pakistan

Jan 29, 2011, 11:26 GMT

Islamabad - The United States on Saturday asked Pakistan to immediately release a US national arrested by police for killing two men, as he is a diplomat and enjoys diplomatic immunity.

The man identifed by police as Raymond Davis and working for consulate as a 'Technical Advisor,' was arrested on Thursday after he gunned down two men in eastern city of Lahore in what he said was self defence against being robbed.

The embassy, after keeping silence over the true status of the man for two days, has now said that he was a diplomat who was assigned to the US Embassy in Islamabad and had a US diplomatic passport with a valid Pakistani visa until June 2012.

'The United States Embassy in Pakistan calls for the immediate release of a US diplomat unlawfully detained by authorities in Lahore,' acting spokesperson Courtney Beale said in a statement without citing the diplomat's name.

She also accused Pakistani officials of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as they refused to release the official when he informed them about his diplomatic immunity status.

'Local police and senior authorities failed to observe their legal obligation to verify his status with either the US Consulate General in Lahore or the US Embassy in Islamabad,' Beale said.

Defending the official, Beale said he acted in self-defence when confronted by two armed men on motorcycles and he 'had every reason to believe that the armed men meant him bodily harm.'

Beale said the two men had criminal records and minutes earlier they had robbed money and valuables at gunpoint from a Pakistani citizen in the same area.

A murder case has been registered against the official under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code which carried maximum death penalty for the accused if found guilty.

A Pakistani court had already given the accused in the police custody for six-days to further investigate the murder.

The embassy also took exception to the fact the 'diplomat' was formally arrested and remanded into custody, which is a violation of international norms and the Vienna Convention, to which Pakistan is a signatory.

The killing of two locals by the US official has sparked anger in the Pakistan where anti-US sentiments run high.

The demand to release him will create problems for the Pakistani government which may not be ready to face the political backlash if it hands over the official to the US authorities without trial.

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