Man Accused of Murdering Daniel Pearl Set Free
A court in Pakistan ordered the release of the four men accused in the kidnapping and murder of American reporter Daniel Pearl.
British-Pakistani Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the key suspect in Pearl’s killing, was sentenced to death and three others were sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping and murder. They were acquitted in April but had remained in prison while Pearl’s family appealed the decision.
The appeals are still being heard in the Sindh High Court, the highest court in the Pakistani province of Sindh, located in Karachi. It overturns a ruling by the country’s Supreme Court that kept Sheikh held in custody.
At the time that he was kidnapped in January 2002, Pearl, 38, was investigating Islamist militants in Karachi after the 9-11 attacks for the Wall Street Journal. His beheading was filmed and sent to US authorities.
