Pakistan court releases male implicated in beheading of U.S. reporter

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Pakistan court frees man accused in beheading of U.S. journalist

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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday bought the release of a Pakistani male founded guilty and later on acquitted in the gruesome beheading of American reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002.

The court likewise dismissed an appeal of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh’s acquittal by Pearl’s household and the Pakistani federal government.

Sheikh has actually been on death row considering that his conviction in the death of Pearl in 2002. His lawyer stated Sheikh “should not have spent one day in jail.”

Attorney Mehmood A. Sheikh, no relation, stated the court likewise bought the release of 3 other Pakistanis who had actually been sentenced to life in jail for their part in Pearl’s kidnapping and death.

Wall Street Journal press reporter Daniel Pearl was killed in Pakistan in 2002.Getty Images / Getty Images, file

“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 household stated in a declaration launched by their attorney, Faisal Siddiqi.

The three-judge Supreme Court ruled 2 to 1 in favor of maintaining Sheikh’s acquittal and bought him launched, stated Siddiqi.

Washington formerly stated it would require Sheikh be extradited to the United States to be attempted there. There was no instant response from the U.S. Embassy to the court order maintaining the appeal.

“We advise the U.S. federal government to take all essential actions under the law to fix this oppression. We likewise hope that the Pakistani authorities will take all essential actions to correct this travesty of justice,” the Pearl household stated.

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Siddiqi, the Pearl household attorney, stated the only legal opportunity following the court’s choice maintaining Sheikh’s acquittal would be to request an evaluation of the court choice. However, he stated the evaluation would be carried out by the very same court that maintained the appeal. “In useful terms” there is no more legal opportunities to pursue in Pakistan, he stated.

Sheikh was founded guilty of assisting lure Pearl to a conference in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, throughout which he was abducted. Pearl had actually been examining the link in between Pakistani militants and Richard C. Reid, called the “Shoe Bomber” after attempting to explode a flight from Paris to Miami with dynamites concealed in his shoes.

Pearl vanished Jan. 23 while examining militant links to the so-called shoe bomber. His body was found in a shallow tomb not long after a gruesome video of his beheading was provided to the U.S. consulate in Karachi.