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Journalism of Courage
The US on Saturday demanded immediate release of its diplomat unlawfully detained by Pakistani authorities after he shot and killed two armed youths he claimed were trying to rob him in the eastern city of Lahore.
The United States embassy in Pakistan calls for the immediate release of a US diplomat unlawfully detained by authorities in Lahore, said a statement issued by the mission.
The US national identified as Raymond Davis has contended that he acted in self-defence after two youths allegedly tried to rob him in a congested area of Lahore on Thursday.
A third Pakistani was killed when he was hit by a US consulate vehicle rushing to the aid of the American.
Pakistani officials have said the American has been booked for murder and would be prosecuted according to domestic laws.
Though an earlier statement issued by the US Embassy had described Davis as a staff member of the US consulate General in Lahore,Saturdays statement said he was a diplomat assigned to the mission in Islamabad.
He has a US diplomatic passport and Pakistani visa valid until June 2012, the statement said.
The diplomat had every reason to believe the armed men meant him bodily harm. Minutes earlier,the two men,who had criminal backgrounds,had robbed money and valuables at gunpoint from a Pakistani citizen in the same area, the statement said.
After being detained,the US diplomat identified himself to police as a diplomat and repeatedly requested immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The statement said: Local police and senior authorities failed to observe their legal obligation to verify his status with the US Consulate General in Lahore or the US embassy in Islamabad. The diplomat was formally arrested and remanded in custody,a violation of international norms and the Vienna Convention,to which Pakistan is a signatory.
Meanwhile,Pakistan said its legal process should be respected. This matter is sub judice in a court of law and the legal process should be respected, a Pakistani foreign office spokesman said in a statement.
