Showing posts with label diplomatic immunity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diplomatic immunity. Show all posts
Sunday, July 23, 2023
Thursday, March 07, 2013
Lawyers question former Pope’s legal status
Pope Benedict XVI (shown) resigned on February 28, 2013.
Wed Mar 6, 2013 7:48AM GMT
Benedict XVI resigned on February 28, becoming the first pontiff in six centuries to do so.
The former pope stated that the reason for his decision was his deteriorating health due to old age.
International lawyers are looking into former Pope Benedict XVI’s legal status to see whether the former pontiff is liable to a legal action over failing to stop child sex abuse by church priests.
Advocates for the victims of abuse said they want to question Benedict XVI’s immunity status, especially if he travels outside of the Vatican.
Referring to the fact that courts have never tried an emeritus pope before, Attorney Pamela Spees said, "So much of this is unprecedented," adding, "There's nothing set in stone about it."
However, a US lawyer for the Vatican argues that Benedict XVI retains legal immunity regardless of whether he is in or out of office.
Benedict XVI resigned on February 28, becoming the first pontiff in six centuries to do so.
The former pope stated that the reason for his decision was his deteriorating health due to old age.
CAH/PKH/HJL
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Monday, February 18, 2013
Pope will have security, immunity by remaining in the Vatican
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY | Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:59pm EST
(Reuters) - Pope Benedict's decision to live in the Vatican after he resigns will provide him with security and privacy. It will also offer legal protection from any attempt to prosecute him in connection with sexual abuse cases around the world, Church sources and legal experts say.
"His continued presence in the Vatican is necessary, otherwise he might be defenseless. He wouldn't have his immunity, his prerogatives, his security, if he is anywhere else," said one Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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Thursday, March 17, 2011
$2m deal heals US-Pakistan spy row but scars ties
Pakistani police escort CIA contractor Raymond Davis (centre) to the Lahore courthouseBy Claire Truscott (AFP) – 1 hour ago
ISLAMABAD — A blood money deal to secure the release of a CIA contractor accused of murder in Pakistan has ended a damaging spy row but eroded a thin veneer of trust between the suspicious allies, analysts say.
The sudden freeing of American Raymond Davis on Wednesday, seven weeks after he shot dead two men in Lahore, has sparked small angry demonstrations in protest at authorities' decision to bow to the demands of the superpower ally.
The United States persistently argued that Davis enjoyed full diplomatic immunity as a member of its embassy staff but secured his release only after $2m compensation was paid to the families of the dead men.
Pakistani media was quick to denounce the deal with populist right-wing newspaper The Nation decrying it as a "Sell Out".
"'Rambo' Raymond Davis has been let loose through a state-managed drama aimed at hoodwinking the entire nation. Every self respecting Pakistani is ashamed today," said The Nation's front page story on Thursday.
Islamabad has stayed largely quiet in the wake of the blood money deal, and a weekly press conference at the foreign ministry was cancelled on Thursday.
US Senator John Kerry, who flew to Pakistan in the wake of the shooting in a bid to resolve the row, lauded the decision as a boon for bilateral ties.
"Neither country can afford for this tragedy to derail our vital relationship," Kerry said in a statement.
The United States holds Pakistan as a critical ally in winning the war next door in Afghanistan, and believes the Taliban's top leadership live in safe havens in the tribal regions on the remote border between the two countries.
But behind the public row over Davis' right to diplomatic immunity lay a secret battle between the CIA and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) over the anti-militant fight, say analysts.
The ISI wanted to put a stop to the CIA's covert surveillance of Pakistani militant networks without its permission, while the CIA wanted greater involvement in the ISI's work to stamp out homegrown extremists, they say.
And although the politicians leading Pakistan's embattled government have again been made to look weak by agreeing to release Davis, defence analyst Talat Masood says resolution of the row has helped fix CIA-ISI ties.
"I think CIA-ISI relations will have definitely improved. This would not have happened without their approval and an improvement in their relationship," said Masood.
"I think they tried to redefine their relationship... I think this will improve the level of confidence if they adhere to their deal."
But as for the government, the deal will confirm to Pakistanis that their government "has no spine and is prepared to sell everything," Masood added.
The United States has been waging a diplomatic campaign for months to convince Pakistanis that its interests in the country lie beyond security ties, signing off huge sums of non-military aid and rushing to the rescue in the wake of devastating floods last summer.
But a sceptical Pakistani public point to a covert drone campaign that pummels the northwest border area as proof that the United States is only interested in maintaining relations to win the Afghan war, and the Davis saga has only reinforced that view, says analyst Imtiaz Gul.
"They have created a facade of a strategic partnership between the US and Pakistan but it will largely remain a transactional relationship, and this will continue," said Gul.
Masood agreed. "One single incident showed the fragility of the relationship. As of now everyone thinks it's primarily based on Afghanistan," he said.
"It would require a sustained relationship for quite some time for people to think otherwise. But American and Western interests in this region will not go away."
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ISLAMABAD — A blood money deal to secure the release of a CIA contractor accused of murder in Pakistan has ended a damaging spy row but eroded a thin veneer of trust between the suspicious allies, analysts say.
The sudden freeing of American Raymond Davis on Wednesday, seven weeks after he shot dead two men in Lahore, has sparked small angry demonstrations in protest at authorities' decision to bow to the demands of the superpower ally.
The United States persistently argued that Davis enjoyed full diplomatic immunity as a member of its embassy staff but secured his release only after $2m compensation was paid to the families of the dead men.
Pakistani media was quick to denounce the deal with populist right-wing newspaper The Nation decrying it as a "Sell Out".
"'Rambo' Raymond Davis has been let loose through a state-managed drama aimed at hoodwinking the entire nation. Every self respecting Pakistani is ashamed today," said The Nation's front page story on Thursday.
Islamabad has stayed largely quiet in the wake of the blood money deal, and a weekly press conference at the foreign ministry was cancelled on Thursday.
US Senator John Kerry, who flew to Pakistan in the wake of the shooting in a bid to resolve the row, lauded the decision as a boon for bilateral ties.
"Neither country can afford for this tragedy to derail our vital relationship," Kerry said in a statement.
The United States holds Pakistan as a critical ally in winning the war next door in Afghanistan, and believes the Taliban's top leadership live in safe havens in the tribal regions on the remote border between the two countries.
But behind the public row over Davis' right to diplomatic immunity lay a secret battle between the CIA and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) over the anti-militant fight, say analysts.
The ISI wanted to put a stop to the CIA's covert surveillance of Pakistani militant networks without its permission, while the CIA wanted greater involvement in the ISI's work to stamp out homegrown extremists, they say.
And although the politicians leading Pakistan's embattled government have again been made to look weak by agreeing to release Davis, defence analyst Talat Masood says resolution of the row has helped fix CIA-ISI ties.
"I think CIA-ISI relations will have definitely improved. This would not have happened without their approval and an improvement in their relationship," said Masood.
"I think they tried to redefine their relationship... I think this will improve the level of confidence if they adhere to their deal."
But as for the government, the deal will confirm to Pakistanis that their government "has no spine and is prepared to sell everything," Masood added.
The United States has been waging a diplomatic campaign for months to convince Pakistanis that its interests in the country lie beyond security ties, signing off huge sums of non-military aid and rushing to the rescue in the wake of devastating floods last summer.
But a sceptical Pakistani public point to a covert drone campaign that pummels the northwest border area as proof that the United States is only interested in maintaining relations to win the Afghan war, and the Davis saga has only reinforced that view, says analyst Imtiaz Gul.
"They have created a facade of a strategic partnership between the US and Pakistan but it will largely remain a transactional relationship, and this will continue," said Gul.
Masood agreed. "One single incident showed the fragility of the relationship. As of now everyone thinks it's primarily based on Afghanistan," he said.
"It would require a sustained relationship for quite some time for people to think otherwise. But American and Western interests in this region will not go away."
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Monday, February 21, 2011
US gives fresh details of CIA agent who killed two men in Pakistan shootout
US reveals that CIA agent Raymond Davis worked for private security firm Xe, formerly known as Blackwater
Ewen MacAskill and Declan Walsh
guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 February 2011 21.48 GMT
Raymond Davis, held in Pakistan on double murder charges for a shooting in Lahore last month, is employed by the CIA as a contractor. Photograph: Reuters
US officials have provided fresh details about Raymond Davis, the CIA agent at the centre of a diplomatic stand-off in Pakistan, including confirmation that he had worked for the private security contractor Xe, formerly known as Blackwater. They also disclosed for the first time that he had been providing security for a CIA team tracking militants.
Davis was attached to the CIA's Global Response Staff, whose duties include protecting case officers when they meet with sources. He was familiarising himself with a sensitive area of Lahore on the day he shot dead two Pakistanis.
The New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press and other media outlets reported for the first time that Davis is a CIA employee. They said they had been aware of his status but kept it under wraps at the request of US officials who said they feared for his safety if involvement with the spy agency was to come out. The officials claimed that he is at risk in the prison in Lahore. The officials released them from their obligation after the Guardian on Sunday reported that Davis was a CIA agent.
Davis shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore last month who he says had been trying to rob him. A third Pakistani man was killed by a car driven by Americans apparently on their way to rescue Davis.
Confirmation that he worked for Xe could prove even more problematic than working for the CIA, given the extent of hatred towards Blackwater, whose staff have gained a reputation in Pakistan as trigger-happy. For Pakistanis the word "Blackwater" has become a byword for covert American operations targeting the country's nuclear capability. Newspaper reports have been filled with lurid reports of lawless operatives roaming the country.
US officials have reiterated their concern about Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail where Davis is being held, saying he had been moved to a separate section of the prison, that the guards' guns had been taken away from for fear they might kill him, and that detainees had been previously killed by guards. They are also concerned about protesters storming the prison or that he might be poisoned, and that dogs were being used to taste or smell the food for poison.
However, the authorities in Pakistan stressed the stringent measures they have put in place to protect Davis in Kot Lakhpat following angry public rallies in which his effigy was burned and threats from extremist clerics.
Surveillance cameras are trained on his cell in an isolation wing, and a ring of paramilitary troops are posted outside. About 25 jihadi prisoners have been transferred to other facilities.
The revelations about Davis will complicate further the impasse between the US and Pakistan. Washington says he has diplomatic immunity and should be released but the Pakistan government is in a bind, facing the danger of a public backlash if it complies.
Until Sunday, the US had said Davis was a diplomat, doing technical and administrative work at the embassy. It says that because he has diplomatic immunity, he should be released immediately.
The Pakistani prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, told parliament on Monday he would safeguard the country's "sovereignty and dignity" as it sought to resolve the diplomatic impasse with the US. "We are firmly resolved to adopt a course that accords with the dictates of justice and the rule of law. My government will not compromise on Pakistan's sovereignty and dignity," said Gilani.
The CIA declined to comment but other US officials said Davis had been working from a safe house in Lahore and had been carrying out scouting and other reconnaissance mission for a task force of case officers and surveillance experts.
The Obama administration is exerting fierce pressure on Pakistan to release Davis. But President Asif Ali Zardari's government, faced with a wave of public outrage, has prevaricated on the issue, and says it cannot decide on immunity issue until 14 March. For many Pakistanis the case has come to represent their difficult relationship with the US, in which multibillion dollar aid packages are mingled with covert activities targeting Islamist extremists.
Davis is currently on Pakistan's "exit control list", meaning he cannot leave the country without permission. But the two men who came to his rescue in a jeep that knocked over and killed a motorcyclist are believed to have already fled the country. Davis claimed to be acting in self-defence, firing on a pair of suspected robbers. But eyebrows were raised when it emerged that he shot the men 10 times, one as he fled the scene.
Pakistani prosecutors say Davis used excessive force and have charged him with two counts of murder and one of illegal possession of a Glock 9mm pistol. There have also been claims that the dead men were working for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, with orders to follow Davis.
The military spy agency cooperates with the CIA in its tribal belt drone programme, but resents US intelligence collection elsewhere in the country.In spite of the lurid conspiracy tales in Pakistan about Blackwater, US officials say that in reality Blackwater has had two major contracts in Pakistan - loading missiles onto CIA drones at the secret Shamsi airbase in Balochistan, and supervising the construction of a police training facility in Peshawar. The Davis furore has not, however, stopped the controversial drone strike programme. News emerged of a fresh attack on a militant target in South Waziristan, the first in nearly one month. Pakistani intelligence officials told AP that foreigners were among the dead including three people from Turkmenistan and two Arabs.
Rocky relations
The CIA and Pakistan's ISI have long had a rocky relationship. It started in the 1980s jihad, when the ISI funnelled billions of dollars in CIA-funded weapons to anti-Soviet rebels in Afghanistan.
But the two fell out in 2001 over CIA accusations that the ISI was playing a "double game" – attacking some Islamist militants while secretly supporting others.
In August 2008 the CIA deputy chief, Stephen Kappes, flew to Islamabad with evidence suggesting the ISI plotted the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul that killed 54 people. The ISI, in turn, complained that the US came with unrealistic expectations and an aggressive attitude.
Yet at the same time the agencies co-operated closely, mostly on the CIA drone campaign against al-Qaida militants along the Afghan border.
In 2009 the ISI praised the CIA for killing the Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. But recently things soured again. Last December the CIA station chief was forced to quit Pakistan after being publicly identified (US officials blamed an ISI leak); while Pakistani spies were angered that their chief, General Shuja Pasha, was named in a US lawsuit brought in a New York court by victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Declan Walsh
Source
.
Ewen MacAskill and Declan Walsh
guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 February 2011 21.48 GMT
Raymond Davis, held in Pakistan on double murder charges for a shooting in Lahore last month, is employed by the CIA as a contractor. Photograph: ReutersUS officials have provided fresh details about Raymond Davis, the CIA agent at the centre of a diplomatic stand-off in Pakistan, including confirmation that he had worked for the private security contractor Xe, formerly known as Blackwater. They also disclosed for the first time that he had been providing security for a CIA team tracking militants.
Davis was attached to the CIA's Global Response Staff, whose duties include protecting case officers when they meet with sources. He was familiarising himself with a sensitive area of Lahore on the day he shot dead two Pakistanis.
The New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press and other media outlets reported for the first time that Davis is a CIA employee. They said they had been aware of his status but kept it under wraps at the request of US officials who said they feared for his safety if involvement with the spy agency was to come out. The officials claimed that he is at risk in the prison in Lahore. The officials released them from their obligation after the Guardian on Sunday reported that Davis was a CIA agent.
Davis shot dead two Pakistanis in Lahore last month who he says had been trying to rob him. A third Pakistani man was killed by a car driven by Americans apparently on their way to rescue Davis.
Confirmation that he worked for Xe could prove even more problematic than working for the CIA, given the extent of hatred towards Blackwater, whose staff have gained a reputation in Pakistan as trigger-happy. For Pakistanis the word "Blackwater" has become a byword for covert American operations targeting the country's nuclear capability. Newspaper reports have been filled with lurid reports of lawless operatives roaming the country.
US officials have reiterated their concern about Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail where Davis is being held, saying he had been moved to a separate section of the prison, that the guards' guns had been taken away from for fear they might kill him, and that detainees had been previously killed by guards. They are also concerned about protesters storming the prison or that he might be poisoned, and that dogs were being used to taste or smell the food for poison.
However, the authorities in Pakistan stressed the stringent measures they have put in place to protect Davis in Kot Lakhpat following angry public rallies in which his effigy was burned and threats from extremist clerics.
Surveillance cameras are trained on his cell in an isolation wing, and a ring of paramilitary troops are posted outside. About 25 jihadi prisoners have been transferred to other facilities.
The revelations about Davis will complicate further the impasse between the US and Pakistan. Washington says he has diplomatic immunity and should be released but the Pakistan government is in a bind, facing the danger of a public backlash if it complies.
Until Sunday, the US had said Davis was a diplomat, doing technical and administrative work at the embassy. It says that because he has diplomatic immunity, he should be released immediately.
The Pakistani prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, told parliament on Monday he would safeguard the country's "sovereignty and dignity" as it sought to resolve the diplomatic impasse with the US. "We are firmly resolved to adopt a course that accords with the dictates of justice and the rule of law. My government will not compromise on Pakistan's sovereignty and dignity," said Gilani.
The CIA declined to comment but other US officials said Davis had been working from a safe house in Lahore and had been carrying out scouting and other reconnaissance mission for a task force of case officers and surveillance experts.
The Obama administration is exerting fierce pressure on Pakistan to release Davis. But President Asif Ali Zardari's government, faced with a wave of public outrage, has prevaricated on the issue, and says it cannot decide on immunity issue until 14 March. For many Pakistanis the case has come to represent their difficult relationship with the US, in which multibillion dollar aid packages are mingled with covert activities targeting Islamist extremists.
Davis is currently on Pakistan's "exit control list", meaning he cannot leave the country without permission. But the two men who came to his rescue in a jeep that knocked over and killed a motorcyclist are believed to have already fled the country. Davis claimed to be acting in self-defence, firing on a pair of suspected robbers. But eyebrows were raised when it emerged that he shot the men 10 times, one as he fled the scene.
Pakistani prosecutors say Davis used excessive force and have charged him with two counts of murder and one of illegal possession of a Glock 9mm pistol. There have also been claims that the dead men were working for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, with orders to follow Davis.
The military spy agency cooperates with the CIA in its tribal belt drone programme, but resents US intelligence collection elsewhere in the country.In spite of the lurid conspiracy tales in Pakistan about Blackwater, US officials say that in reality Blackwater has had two major contracts in Pakistan - loading missiles onto CIA drones at the secret Shamsi airbase in Balochistan, and supervising the construction of a police training facility in Peshawar. The Davis furore has not, however, stopped the controversial drone strike programme. News emerged of a fresh attack on a militant target in South Waziristan, the first in nearly one month. Pakistani intelligence officials told AP that foreigners were among the dead including three people from Turkmenistan and two Arabs.
Rocky relations
The CIA and Pakistan's ISI have long had a rocky relationship. It started in the 1980s jihad, when the ISI funnelled billions of dollars in CIA-funded weapons to anti-Soviet rebels in Afghanistan.
But the two fell out in 2001 over CIA accusations that the ISI was playing a "double game" – attacking some Islamist militants while secretly supporting others.
In August 2008 the CIA deputy chief, Stephen Kappes, flew to Islamabad with evidence suggesting the ISI plotted the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul that killed 54 people. The ISI, in turn, complained that the US came with unrealistic expectations and an aggressive attitude.
Yet at the same time the agencies co-operated closely, mostly on the CIA drone campaign against al-Qaida militants along the Afghan border.
In 2009 the ISI praised the CIA for killing the Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. But recently things soured again. Last December the CIA station chief was forced to quit Pakistan after being publicly identified (US officials blamed an ISI leak); while Pakistani spies were angered that their chief, General Shuja Pasha, was named in a US lawsuit brought in a New York court by victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Declan Walsh
Source
.
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