US Embassy denies reports about Davis' rude behaviour, special treatment in jail

Islamabad, Feb 16(ANI): The US Consul General in Lahore has dismissed media reports that double-murder accused US diplomat Raymond Davis and the US officials who visited him in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail had acted inappropriately.

Consul General Carmela Conroy "strongly refuted reports in some Pakistani newspapers suggesting that Davis and US officials visiting him in prison have acted rudely," the US Embassy said in a press release.

Conroy, who has been visiting Davis regularly since his "illegal" detention began on January 27, said: "Ray is being treated like a regular prisoner. He has no access to a television, telephone, internet or any other electronic devices, and cannot communicate directly with his family."

According to an earlier media report, sources said that Davis was at liberty to interact with the outside world on the internet and the phone amidst maximum security in the jail.

The room where President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N leader Makhdoom Hashmi were earlier imprisoned is now being furnished for Davis, they said, adding: "Security pickets on the rooftop are getting the final touches."

Conroy dismissed these reports, saying that Davis was "being held under the same conditions as a Pakistani would be, in such a high-security facility. He sleeps on a foam mattress on a concrete pad."

According to the US Embassy statement, Davis has regular consular access visits- as all foreign prisoners are entitled under international and Pakistani law- and has received "only basic clothing, groceries, medicine and toiletries." (ANI)