Relatives of Slain Seek Terror Charges for US Consulate Employee in Pakistan

Complain Police Refusing to Take Statements From Eye-Witnesses

Relatives of the two men slain on January 27 by US consulate employee Raymond Davis today gathered at the site of the incident in Lahore, Pakistan with supporters chanting “death to American dogs” and demanding that Davis face terrorism charges.

Davis was arrested in the wake of the killings and claimed he was acting in self-defense, and that the two men he killed were “robbing him.” The US demanded that he be released, but claims of his diplomatic immunity were rejected, because Davis works for a consulate and not an embassy.

Relatives of the slain are now complaining that the police refused to take statements from a number of the eye-witnesses and were deliberately trying to botch the case. The Lahore High Court today ordered police to take the statements.

Pakistan’s government insists that the case will be conducted as any other murder trial would in Pakistan, but with intense pressure from locals to move against Davis and demands from the US to summarily release him, it appears the trial will be a headache for the government either way.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.