Pakistan court orders release of man convicted over 2002 beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl
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JanJanuary 2021 at 11:56pm
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted and later acquitted in the gruesome beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. (file)
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Pakistan s Supreme Court has ordered the release of a Pakistani man convicted but recently acquitted in the gruesome beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, a decision that has left Pearl s family in complete shock , lawyers have said.
Key points:
The court also dismissed an appeal of his acquittal by Pearl s family
Washington previously said it would demand Mr Sheikh be extradited to the US to be tried there
20 shares In this March 29, 2002, photo, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged mastermind behind Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl s kidnap-slaying, is escorted by police in Karachi, Pakistan. (Aamir Qureshi/AFP)
ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the release Thursday of a Pakistani-British man convicted and later acquitted in the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.
The court also dismissed an appeal of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh’s acquittal by Pearl’s family and the Pakistani government. It wasn’t immediately clear when Sheikh would be freed; the government of the Sindh province where he is being held has previously refused to honor such release orders.
Pakistani court orders release of man accused of beheading American journalist Daniel Pearl
By Kathy Gannon article
Pakistani police surround handcuffed Omar Sheikh as he comes out of a court on March 29, 2002, in port city of Karachi. (Photo credit: AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the release Thursday of a Pakistani-British man convicted and later acquitted in the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.
The court also dismissed an appeal of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh s acquittal by Pearl’s family and the Pakistani government. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Sheikh would be freed Thursday; the government of the province where he is being held has previously refused to honor such release orders.
Getty Images
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Wall Street Journal newspaper reporter Daniel Pearl was killed by Islamic militants in Pakistan in 2002. A video of his interrogation and death was sent to the U.S. Consulate in Karachi and posted on the Internet. Getty Images
Updated 6:29 p.m. ET
Pakistan s Supreme Court ordered the release on Thursday of a British national who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002.
The decision comes nearly two decades after the journalist s body was found in a shallow grave in the Pakistani port city of Karachi. He was killed five months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A videotape showing the aftermath of Pearl s beheading was sent to the U.S. Consulate in Karachi and posted on the Internet, a portent of the cinematic violence committed by Islamic extremist groups in the coming years.
Top Pakistani Court Upholds Reversal of Conviction in Daniel Pearl Killing
The court ordered the release of Ahmed Omar Sheikh, a man previously convicted of being the mastermind of the American journalist’s abduction and murder.
Ahmed Omar Sheikh in 2002.Credit.Getty Images
Jan. 28, 2021
Pakistan’s highest court on Thursday ordered the release of the man who had been convicted of being the mastermind behind the 2002 kidnapping and death of the American journalist Daniel Pearl, in a ruling that experts say shows the weakness of terrorism prosecutions in the country.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court in Islamabad upheld a lower court’s decision to acquit and release the man, Ahmed Omar Sheikh, a British national and militant.