US pays €1.7m ‘blood money’ to free CIA man

A CIA contractor who shot and killed two Pakistani men has been freed from prison after the United States paid $2.34 million (€1.7m) in “blood money” to the victims’ families, Pakistani officials said.

The dispute had strained ties between Washington and Islamabad.

In what appeared to be carefully choreographed end to the diplomatic crisis, the US embassy said the Justice Department had opened an investigation into the killings on January 27 by CIA contractor Raymond Allen Davis. It thanked the families for “their generosity” in pardoning Davis, but did not mention any money changing hands.

The killings and detention of Davis triggered a fresh wave of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and were testing an alliance seen as key to defeating al-Qaeda and ending the war in Afghanistan.

The tensions were especially sharp between the CIA and Pakistan’s powerful Inter Services Intelligence, which says it did not know Davis was operating in the country. One intelligence official said the agency had backed the “blood money” deal as a way of soothing tensions.

Small groups of protesters took to the street in major cities after nightfall, briefly clashing with police outside the US consulate in Lahore, where officers fired tear gas at men burning tyres and hurling rocks. Some called for larger protests after Friday afternoon prayers.

Davis, 34, claimed he acted in self-defence when he killed the two men on the street in the eastern city of Lahore. The United States initially described him as either a US consular or embassy official, but officials later acknowledged he was working for the CIA, confirming suspicions that had aired in the Pakistani media.

The US insisted Davis was covered by diplomatic immunity, but the Pakistani government, facing intense pressure from Islamist parties, sections of the media and the public, did not reveal if this was the case.

The payment of “blood money,” sanctioned under Pakistani law, had been suggested as the best way to end the dispute. Given the high stakes for both nations, few imagined either side would allow it to derail the relationship. The main question was how long it would take to reach a deal.

Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah said Davis was charged with murder in a court that was convened in a prison in Lahore, but was immediately pardoned by the families of the victims after the payment.

Reporters were not allowed to witness the proceedings. US officials said Davis left the country soon after his release from jail.