Attorney Mehmood A. Sheikh, no relation, said the court also ordered the release of three other Pakistanis who had been sentenced to life in prison for their part in Pearl’s kidnapping and death.
“Today’s decision is a complete travesty of justice and the release of these killers puts in danger journalists everywhere and the people of Pakistan,” the Pearl family said in a statement released by their lawyer, Faisal Siddiqi.
The three-judge Supreme Court ruled 2 to 1 in favor of upholding Sheikh’s acquittal and ordered him released, said Siddiqi.
Washington previously said it would demand Sheikh be extradited to the United States to be tried there. There was no immediate reaction from the U.S. Embassy to the court order upholding the appeal.
Mehmood A. Sheikh, defence lawyer for Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, speaks to journalists outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday. AP
ISLAMABAD: The counsel for parents of Daniel Pearl on Wednesday referred to a July 25, 2019, letter in which the principal accused, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, had conceded his minor role in the US journalist’s murder.
The letter, presented before the Supreme Court by counsel Faisal Siddiqui, was addressed to the Sindh High Court. The accused had acknowledged that his role in the issue was relatively minor and did not warrant death sentence or even the amount of time he had already served in prison, mostly in solitary confinement.
Pakistan court orders man accused in American s death freed timescolonist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timescolonist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
After 18 years of denial, the Pakistani suspect convicted and later acquitted in the 2002 beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl has told a court he played a “minor" role in the killing, the Pearl family lawyer said Wednesday.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of a British-born man convicted and later acquitted over the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.
The court also dismissed an appeal against Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh’s acquittal by Mr Pearl’s family and the Pakistani government.
Mr Sheikh has been on death row since his conviction for the death of Mr Pearl in 2002. His lawyer said Sheikh “should not have spent one day in jail”.
Lawyer Mehmood A Sheikh said the court also ordered the release of three other Pakistanis who had been sentenced to life in prison for their part in Mr Pearl’s kidnapping and murder.