By Syed Raza Hassan and Asif Shahzad
KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Pakistan s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of an Islamist convicted of beheading U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, a decision that has left his family in complete shock , lawyers said.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was the main suspect in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl, was released by a panel of three judges. By a majority of two to one, they have acquitted all the accused persons and ordered their release, a provincial advocate general, Salman Talibuddin, told Reuters.
It was not immediately clear whether acquittal meant a finding of not guilty, or that they had merely finished their jail terms.
Karachi: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of an Islamist convicted of beheading US journalist Daniel Pearl, a decision that has left his family in “complete shock”, lawyers said.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was the main suspect in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl, was acquitted by a panel of three judges.
“By a majority of two to one, they have acquitted all the accused persons and ordered their release,” a provincial advocate general, Salman Talibuddin, told Reuters. This undated handout file photo released from the Wall Street Journal shows Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who disappeared in the Pakistani port city of Karachi January 23, 2002 after telling his wife he was going to interview an Islamic group leader.
Zia Mazhar/AP
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a man convicted and later acquitted in the 2002 murder of Pearl admitted a minor role in his death, upending 18 years of denials, the Pearl family lawyer said.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of a Pakistani man convicted and later acquitted in the gruesome 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. Sheikh has been on death row since his conviction over the death of Pearl in 2002. His attorney said Sheikh “should not have spent one day in jail”.
The apex court dismissed the Sindh government s appeal against the Sindh High Court s (SHC) decision to overturn Sheikh s conviction, reports Dawn news.In i
Islamist convicted of beheading US journalist Daniel Pearl to go free, victim s family in shock 28 January 2021 - 14:13 By Reuters A portrait of the Wall Street Journal s reporter Daniel Pearl stands with a candle at the altar at Fleet Street s journalists chapel St Brides Church prior to a memorial service in London March 5, 2002. Pearl was murdered after being captured in Pakistan and held hostage as his captors attempted to bargain the release of prisoners held by the US in Cuba. Image: REUTERS/Ian Waldie IW/NMB/File Photo
Pakistan s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of an Islamist convicted of beheading US journalist Daniel Pearl, a decision that has left his family in “complete shock”, lawyers said.