On Wednesday, Pakistani TV news aired what is apparently video of Pakistani police interrogating Raymond Davis, the American who allegedly shot and killed two men in Lahore, Pakistan last month, and whose continued detention has touched off a diplomatic crisis.
The clip, whose authenticity U.S. officials do not dispute, according to The Washington Post, is a little less than two minutes long, and was shot from a low angle.
“I need to tell the embassy where I’m at,” Davis can be heard saying. He tells the questioners his name is Raymond Davis, and that he is an American working for the embassy. “But my passport, my passport — at the site I showed the police officer — it’s somewhere, it’s lost.”
He then specifies that he works for the consulate in Lahore, and shows his questioners what he says are ID badges from Islamabad and Lahore.
“I just work as a consultant there,” Davis says about his role in Lahore.
“Can I sit down?” he then asks. The questioners offer him water, and he asks if they have a bottle.
“Can you search the car for my passport? Under the seat,” Davis says at the end of the clip.
On Jan. 27, Davis allegedly shot and killed two men who were reportedly following him on motorcycles in a lower middle class part of Lahore. U.S. officials say that Davis has diplomatic immunity, and is being held illegally by Pakistani authorities. The U.S. embassy in Pakistan has issued a statement calling Davis’ actions self-defense. Anonymous Pakistani sources say the men Davis killed worked for the Inter-Services Intelligence, and had been sent to track Davis. Both sides acknowledge that releasing Davis could spark unrest in Pakistan.
Watch (the interrogation is shown several times in this news cast, the first time at the 1:25 mark):
Eric Lach
Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website’s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpointsmemo.com
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