A Pakistani man convicted and later acquitted of helping kidnap and kill American journalist Daniel Pearl is set to be released following a Pakistan Supreme Court ruling Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that the court ordered Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh’s release and also dismissed an appeal filed by Pearl’s family and the Pakistani government seeking to reverse the acquittal.
“The Pearl family is in complete shock by the majority decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to acquit and release Ahmed Omer Sheikh and the other accused persons who kidnapped and killed Daniel Pearl,” the Pearl family said in a statement released by their lawyer, Faisal Siddiqi.