Records: 'Blood money' paid to kin of Pakistanis killed by U.S. man

[sabra]

Source: CNN

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The relatives of two Pakistani men killed by an American CIA contractor received a total of about $2.3 million in "blood money," which helped secure the suspect's release, a local official said.

Raymond Davis killed the two men in Lahore in January, sparking a diplomatic tussle that strained relations between the United States and Pakistan.

One of the victims was Faizan Haider, whose wife and mother both acknowledged the compensation in court records.

"I have pardoned the American Raymond Davis who killed my husband on January 27th after receiving a blood money of $292, 375," the victim's wife, Zahra Shahzad, stated in her affidavit submitted to court.

"I received this money without any pressure or greed."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/17/pakistan.us.shooting/index.html?hpt=Sbin

[bemildred]

1. I am sure Mr Davis' release was worth every penny.

It is good to know there was no greed involved too.
:sarcasm:

[Angry Dragon]

2. Maybe we all should work for the CIA

it seems if you kill a couple of people the government will come to your rescue
this country has lost its soul and morality

[notesdev]

3. Did Congress appropriate that money?

If so, I'd like to see the vote.

If not, we have a mini-Iran/Contra scandal on our hands here.

[karynnj]

4. I would assume that there are descretionary funds

in the CIA budget - or the state department budget for that matter. In addition, it might have been paid by Davis' company.

With the Contras, the problem was that there was a Senate amendment explicitly forbidding the arming of the contras and I believe that with Iran, the issue was that we were officially against them in the Iraq/Iran war and selling weapons to them was against the law.

This was not covert, as Iran Contra - in all its parts, was. The reason that some part of the government - or possibly Davis' company. would have paid this is because the more important thing was to get beyond it.