Friday, March 18, 2011

U.S. pays ransom?

A Pakistani court has freed a US CIA contractor after acquitting him of two counts of murder at a hearing held at a prison in Lahore, officials say.

Raymond Davis, 36, was alleged to have shot dead two men in the eastern city of Lahore in January following what he said was an attempted armed robbery.

The acquittal came when relatives of the dead men pardoned him in court.

They confirmed to the judge overseeing the case that they had received compensation - known as "blood money".

Under Pakistani Sharia law, relatives of a murder victim can pardon the killer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12757244

In other words, the U.S. ransomed a government contractor arrested by an ally in violation of international law.

This will only increase the likelihood of further illegal seizures of Americans abroad.

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