U.S. Consular Worker May Be Charged for Killing Pakistani Assailants

Dusty · 01-29-2011, 04:33

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01...kistan-gunmen/

Always read the ROE's, boys... ( The ones in Pakistan are so ridiculous you may get killed if you obey them, however.)

ISLAMABAD– A U.S. consular worker has been remanded in police custody for six days after shooting dead two armed assailants in Pakistan.

Raymond Davis may face murder charges after the pair approached him on a motorcycle shortly after withdrawing money from an A.T.M. in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday.

Police say Davis believed the men intended to rob him in his car in a crowded street. He apparently produced a Bareta and opened fire.

One gunman was killed at the scene by four separate shots. The second died later in hospital from three rounds.

A third Pakistani was killed by a U.S. consulate S.U.V. as it rushed to Davis’s aid after he apparently called the mission for help. The consulate says it will surrender the vehicle and the driver to police for the official investigation.

Friday in a Lahore military court, Davis apologized to the two men’s families.

In a two-sentence statement Friday, the U.S. embassy confirmed that a consulate staffer "was involved in an incident yesterday that regrettably resulted in the loss of life."

The U.S. was working with Pakistanis to "determine the facts and work toward a resolution," it said.

But a Pakistani police officer described Davis, said to be from Virginia, as a “security official” at the Lahore consulate while others said he called himself a “technical adviser” to the authorities.

As foreign mission worker he enjoys diplomatic immunity but Davis’s case is complicated by a ban on foreigners from carrying weapons in Pakistan and by local self-defense laws.Under Pakistani law one can only act in self-defense if attacked first. Merely being approached by someone wielding a gun is insufficient cause under law for the victim to pull the trigger. Also, when firing in self-defense it is only admissible to aim at non-life threatening parts of the assailant's body, such as arms or legs.

The killings complicate further an already fraught relationship the United States has with Pakistan, its most important ally in fighting terrorism and Islamic militancy.

Pakistani deaths at American hands are an immensely emotive issue here, where relentless CIA drone strikes aimed at insurgents have claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians in the past two years.

In recent weeks there have been rallies countrywide involving thousands of protesters, angry at the attacks that they view as an invasion of national sovereignty and resentful of the US-led occupation of Afghanistan which is often sold by radicals as an American war on Islam.

The U.S. Sate Department has just embarked on renewed efforts to improve America’s image with the Pakistan public amid tensions with the country’s government and the de facto ruling military.

The local provincial law minister, Rana Sanaullah, said no US pressure would be allowed to influence Davis’s case, should it come to a criminal court.

“We will not accept any pressure in this case. The guilty will be punished and the innocent will get justice,” he told reporters.

Blue · 02-01-2011, 14:17

1. He is not with DSS (just want to get that out of the way for those thinking that with the "security official" thing).

2. This is what happens when you don't follow the contigency plans in place when the shit hits the fan. And that's about all I'm at liberty to discuss.

**The Reaper** · 02-01-2011, 14:41

If he is on a Dip passport and they refuse to release him, there should be some serious repercussions.

The alleged Pak requirements to have to wait for assailants to shoot at you first and then aim for their legs probably explains the losses of several prominent Paks to assassins and the inability of their PSDs to protect them.

TR

tonyz · 02-01-2011, 14:48

...hard to hit those moving arms and legs?

I guess he missed.

Blue · 02-01-2011, 18:15

There is more to diplomatic immunity than just having a diplomatic passport. There are different layers of diplomatic immunity (i.e. diplomatic vs. consular), and it isn't always a blanket. Under the circumstances in this case, he may not be covered. Which makes following SOP post-incident all the more important.

lindy · 02-01-2011, 19:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue

There is more to diplomatic immunity than just having a diplomatic passport. There are different layers of diplomatic immunity (i.e. diplomatic vs. consular), and it isn't always a blanket.

Ok now I'm interested. More to immunity...Such as?

One may carry the coveted black passport but I've found that a smile, a pack of Malboros, and even some chocolate goes a LONG way. Well, with border guards anyway.

Very few (only 2-3) Americans actually have diplomatic immunity at any given overseas post. Most of time the host nation will honor the Vienna conventions however more often than not, they are very selective as to which articles they choose to enforce. Bottom line: we're guests in their house playing by their rules which are subject to change.

State should have pulled him out of the country long ago. That's really gotta suck being in the Paki pokie. shudder.

Blue · 02-01-2011, 19:55

Diplomatic immunity is only good when working for an embassy, and then only certain jobs (although unless a very small embassy, it's going to be more than just 2-3). Consular immunity covers those working at consulates (such as Lahore), and only covers certain jobs and while on official duty. You do something on your own time, you're not covered. Those TDY are also not fully covered.

As far as State getting him out...see above comment about following SOP.

lindy · 02-01-2011, 20:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue

Diplomatic immunity is only good when working for an embassy, and then only certain jobs (although unless a very small embassy, it's going to be more than just 2-3). Consular immunity covers those working at consulates (such as Lahore), and only covers certain jobs and while on official duty. You do something on your own time, you're not covered. Those TDY are also not fully covered.

As far as State getting him out...see above comment about following SOP.

Perhaps you should read the last page of your black passport...it says otherwise.

Blue · 02-01-2011, 20:41

Let me know how that works out for you. You don't bother to know the law that covers you, don't whine when you get jammed up.

Edited to add--Google diplomatic immunity and consular immunity (which covers Lahore, unless you are in Lahore via the Embassy in Islamabad). I can't explain any more simply than that.

**The Reaper** · 02-01-2011, 20:58

How do foreign diplomats in the US get away with felonies and are sent home without prosecution?

TR

**Peregrino** · 02-01-2011, 21:00

Blue - Good synopsis. DI is a complicated issue and this guy is about to be an object lesson. Maybe his experience will give somebody else pause to think before they're in a similar situation. I wish him better luck than he's had so far. He's going to need all he can get.

Blue · 02-01-2011, 21:10

The rules are bilateral, Reaper. It would depend on their exact status in the U.S. If they are a diplomatic agent assigned to an Embassy here in the U.S., then they will probably have full diplomatic immunity and can be expelled but not prosecuted. Their mission, however, can waive that immunity since it belongs to the mission and not the person (same for U.S. personnel overseas). They can also be tried by their own government once they return home.

And the same would apply to this guy...IF he met those parameters.

Here is an explanation, for U.S. LE officers as they apply to foreign diplomats here. Reverse them and the same is generally true for U.S. personnel overseas, depending on the bilateral agreement (I'm not at work so I can't pull up the official stuff for us). It explains the differences between diplomatic and consular immunities, as well as how just holding a diplomatic passport (and even a diplomatic visa) does not mean you are entitled to full or any immunity. And also how those who are on temporary official duty to a mission do not enjoy ANY immunity.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/150546.pdf

Peregrino--yes, he's going to need alot of luck and alot of cooperation. Funny thing is, we enjoyed a good relationship with the locals in Lahore. That's been shot to hell now.

**The Reaper** · 02-01-2011, 21:20

Regardless, I suspect that he is better off than had he allowed the thugs to kill him.

I guess the Paks feel differently.

Wrong place, wrong time.

TR

Blue · 02-01-2011, 21:27

True, but if I am told by a security guru to go to a certain ATM during the day and keep my head on a swivel, but instead decide to go to an ATM at midnight in a bad part of town and never look around and get jumped, then the pity party for me might be very brief, ya know? Big boy rules apply.

There is an innocent Paki kid who is dead because of American recklessness and no matter how one feels about the country as a whole, he didn't deserve it and I can't say I wouldn't feel like they do if the shoe was on the other foot.

MtnGoat · 02-10-2011, 09:16

This is not a good thing here.

Hate to see where this will go. Not much here too, which is good. I have heard that PAK-TB is calling for a public hanging and open confession over UAV strikes.

Story here