Friday, February 25, 2011

Jailed U.S. CIA contractor in court in Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan.
Raymond Davis, the American accused of killing two Pakistani men, appeared Friday in a Pakistani court, where he was handed documents that detailed the case against him.

The court then adjourned until March 3 when Davis is expected to be formally charged.

The case has strained relations between the United States and Pakistan, a key ally in the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan, and the shooting deaths have outraged many Pakistanis.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities have detained a second U.S. citizen, identified as Aaron Mark DeHaven, in Peshawar, according to a statement Friday by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.
No additional details can be confirmed until a U.S. government representative meets with DeHaven, the statement said.

Davis has said that the January 27 shooting occurred after two men attacked him as he drove through a busy Lahore neighborhood, according to the U.S. Embassy.

U.S. officials originally said Davis was a diplomat and later revealed he is a CIA contractor, intensifying the already highly charged situation.

During the court hearing Friday, Davis was handed over documents of evidence in the case, but he initially refused to accept them because they were in Urdu, a language he did not understand.

Clerks were told to translate the documents into English. Davis told the judge that he should be released from jail because he has diplomatic immunity, the same argument other U.S. officials have used since Davis' arrest.

The judge said he was waiting on a response from the Pakistani government on that issue and that it should happen at the March hearing.



U.S. officials originally said Raymond Davis was a diplomat,
 but later revealed he is a CIA contractor.

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