KARACHI: A provincial court in Pakistan The man who was charged with the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 ordered his release on Thursday, his lawyer said.
The Sindh High Court’s release order overturns a ruling by the Pakistani Supreme Court requiring Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the prime suspect in Perle’s murder, to remain in custody, his lawyer said. Sheikh was acquitted of Pearl’s murder earlier this year but was detained while Perle’s family appealed the acquittal.
Sheik’s attorney Mehmood A sheikh, to whom he is not related, has called for his client’s immediate release.
“The warrant is being put down,” he said Faisal Siddiqi, the Pearl family lawyer. Sheikh will be released until the appeal is completed, but will be returned to prison if the family can overturn the acquittal.
Sheikh was sentenced to death and three others were sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the conspiracy. But the provincial court acquitted him and three others in April, a move that baffled the US government, Perle’s family and journalist advocacy groups.
The acquittal is now being challenged separately by both the government and Perle’s family. The government has spoken out against the release of Sheikh, saying it would endanger the public. The Supreme Court will resume its hearing on January 5th.
Sheikh had been convicted of luring Pearl to meet in the southern Pakistani port city Karachiin which he was kidnapped. Pearl had investigated the link between Pakistani terrorists and Richard C. Reid and called the “shoe bomber” after trying to blow up a flight from Paris Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.
A gruesome video of Perle’s beheading was sent to the US consulate. The Wall Street Journal reporter, 38, from Encino, California, was kidnapped on January 23, 2002.