Who is Raymond Allen Davis?

On January 27, 2011, a US citizen claiming to be working as a consultant at the U.S. Consulate in Lahore, and later said to be a CIA operative, killed two armed men in the Pakistani city of Lahore. The identification papers he submitted to the Pakistani police are in the name of Raymond Allen Davis, although initially it was categorically stated by the US State Department that this name was not correct. He is now facing two separate criminal charges, one of double murder and the second of illegal possession of a firearm. Two petitions seeking prosecution against him on charges of forgery for obtaining a visa under a fake name have also been registered with the Lahore High Court.

CIA spy charged with murder in Pakistan, has flown out of the country after the relatives of two men he killed dropped charges in exchange for “blood money” of at least $1.4m (£874,000) and help in resettling abroad.

Davis slipped out of Lahore on a special flight from the old city airport after being released from the sprawling jail where he had been held for almost 10 weeks amid a diplomatic storm that rocked relations between the two allies and sucked in President Barack Obama.

A Pakistani official said the 36-year-old US spy was bound for an airbase in Afghanistan, then on to the US.

INCIDENT

Davis has said in his written statement that the incident happened when he was coming from the Embassy. The police report states that the GPS record shows he actually was coming from his private residence at Scotch Corner, Upper Mall. Davis stated that after withdrawing cash from a bank cash machine, he was driving alone in his white Honda Civic and had stopped at a traffic light near Qurtaba Chowk in the Mozang Chungi area of Lahore when two men pulled alongside him on a motorbike. After one of the young men allegedly brandished a pistol, Davis opened fire and killed both of them with his own 9mm Glock pistol. Davis claimed to the police his actions were in self-defence. The police have stated no eyewitness have supported Davis’ claim that any of the deceased men pulled a pistol on him. Police reported that “Faheem’s gun contained no bullet in the chamber – meaning it could not have been cocked.” “When Davis fired at Faizan and Faheem, they were sitting on their bike in front of his car with their backs towards Davis, which meant that they were not in an attacking position and the claim of self-defence is false”. Davis’ weapon was not licensed. The two men on the motorcycle were stopped at the light in front of Davis’ car. Davis shot them through his windshield. After the shooting, Davis is alleged to have exited his car to take pictures and videos of his victims with his cell phone. Faizan Haider was still alive at the time. He later died in hospital. Another version of events is that Davis shot five rounds through his windshield, got out of his vehicle and shot four more rounds into the two men as they lay on the pavement. The Police report says that witnesses saw Davis fire at Faizan Haider at a time when he left the motorcycle and ran to save his life. Davis himself also admitted that he fired at Faizan from the back when he was running.

Davis then radioed for backup whereupon four American men in a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado with fake registration plates (LZN-6970), attempted unsuccessfully to reach the scene. The driver of the Prado jumped the median on Jail Road, traveled against the oncoming traffic and ran over and killed a motorcyclist later identified as Ebadur Rehman. Without stopping, the vehicle fled the scene and rushed to the consulate, jettisoning items outside Faletti’s Hotel. Police say they included four magazines containing 100 bullets, various battery cells, a baton, scissors, a pair of gloves, a compass with knife, a black coloured mask / blindfold, and a piece of cloth bearing the American flag.

Davis attempted to escape the scene of the shooting in his vehicle but was apprehended by two traffic wardens at Old Anarkali Food Street in Anarkali Bazaar, where he was handed over to police. Footage of him attempting to drive through the gathered crowd and escape has been shown on Pakistani television. People gathered at the scene later blocked the roads and burnt tires in protest of the incident. Later, the demonstrations moved to the police station where Davis’ car had been impounded.

According to news sources, items recovered from Davis’ car included a Glock handgun, GPS equipment and an infrared light, telescope, a flashlight that attaches to a headband, a large number of cellphones, including at least one satellite phone, a collection of batteries, buckets of bullets, both for the Glock and a Beretta allegedly used by Davis to kill the two motorcyclists, and a quantity of M-16 shells. Police report that the bullets were high-powered killer projectiles not allowed in many countries. There were military-grade knives, wires, and a surprising array of high-capacity magazines for the handguns. Also found was a camera loaded with pictures of dozens of madrassas (religious schools) and other buildings around Lahore. Pakistani media have also reported, that Davis also carried multiple ATM and military ID cards and what was described as a facial disguise or makeup. The Pakistani official said Davis also carried identification cards from the U.S. consulates in Lahore and Peshawar but not from the embassy in Islamabad.