Man accused of beheading U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl ordered released by Pakistani court
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of a man convicted of beheading U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl.
The decision left the Pearl family “in complete shock,” according to a statement from Faisal Siddiqi, a lawyer for the Pearl family. He called the decision “a complete travesty of justice.”
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was the main suspect in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter covering militants in Pakistan in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Saeed, a British-born Pakistani who was implicated in other kidnappings, had been sentenced to death for Pearl’s murder and kidnapping.
The Supreme Court decision Thursday follows a move by a provincial court last year to overturn Saeed’s sentence. That was quickly appealed by the Pearl family, but ultimately dismissed Thursday by the Supreme Court ruling.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/daniel-pearl-pakistan-accused-released/2021/01/28/85e3ad14-6140-11eb-a177-7765f29a9524_story.html