Lahore, Mar 16: American CIA contractor Raymond Davis, arrested after he shot and killed two Pakistanis in January, was today acquitted and freed by a court after the families of the dead men agreed to a “blood money” deal of over USD 2.3 million and pardoned him.
Hours after Additional District and Sessions Judge Yousuf Aujla indicted Davis on murder charges during an in-camera hearing at Kot Lakhpat Jail, 19 male and female relatives of the dead men appeared in the makeshift court and said they were willing to forgive the American if compensation was paid under the 'Qisas' and 'Diyat Law'.
"The relatives appeared in court and independently told the judge that they had accepted the diyat (compensation) and forgiven him,” said Rana Sanaullah, the Law Minister of Punjab province.
"The court then acquitted him. The court proceedings were completed according to the law. The Punjab government didn't talk to anyone and we were not part of (this arrangement)," Sanaullah said. Davis was free to "go anywhere" after his acquittal, he said.
Davis, a 36-year-old former Special Forces soldier, was arrested in Lahore on January 27 after he shot and killed two armed men he claimed were trying to rob him. A third Pakistani man died when he was hit by a US consulate vehicle rushing to help Davis. Police rejected Davis' claim of acting in self-defence and booked him for murder.
Officials who did not want to be named said the US paid Rs 6 crore to each of the families of the three dead men. The total ‘diyat' or compensation amounted to USD 2.3 million, they said.
The relatives of the dead men gave a written undertaking to the judge about accepting the "blood money" and asked him to free Davis, Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying. The judge accepted this and acquitted Davis, the channel reported.
Sanaullah said under Pakistani and Islamic laws, the relatives of the dead men had the legal right to accept ‘diyat' and forgive the accused. "The government and the prosecutors cannot prevent that," he said.
Judge Aujla also disposed of another case against Davis for illegal possession of a weapon, saying the time he had spent in prison would be considered as his punishment. Davis paid a fine of Rs 30,000 in connection with this case on the orders of the court.
Reports quoting unnamed US officials in Washington said Davis was flown out of Pakistan after his acquittal. Pakistani news channels reported Davis was flown from Lahore to Afghanistan in a special military aircraft.
US Ambassador Cameron Munter, in a statement, said he was "grateful" that the families of the victims had pardoned Davis. He said that the US Department of Justice had "opened an investigation" into the shooting incident involving Davis.
Sources told PTI that the Saudi Arabian government played a key role in secret negotiations to arrange the "blood money" deal to settle Davis' case, which had resulted in Pakistan-US ties plunging to a new low.
The Saudi royal family played a key role in convincing Pakistan's radical groups and religious hardliners to agree to the deal, the sources said. "Blood money" is paid to the next of kin of a murder victim as a fine.
Noted political analyst Najam Sethi said Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had played a "secret role" in getting the families of the dead men to agree to the deal.
"The central government wanted such a deal and it would also be backed by the military," he said.
The Jamaat-e-Islami and former cricketer Imran Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaf party organised demonstration in several cities, including Lahore and Karachi, to protest Davis' release. The Jamaat-e-Islami said it would also organise a countrywide protest.
Pakistani leaders, fearful of a backlash due to rising anti-American sentiment, had earlier said Davis' case should be settled by the courts.
The case was complicated by revelations that Davis was working as a security contractor for the CIA and that the men he killed were operatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency. PTI
