A Pakistani court on Thursday ordered the immediate release of the four suspects in the beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl – in violation of its own government, which had demanded that they remain behind bars.
Sindh’s Supreme Court issued a written injunction for accused mastermind Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and the alleged cohorts Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib to be “released immediately from prison,” Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
“The release could take place today and if not, it will be in the next 24 hours,” the men’s attorney, Mahmood Sheikh – who is not related to the imprisoned militant – told the Telegraphic Service.
“There is no legal barrier to their release,” he added, despite orders from the Pakistani government to detain them.
British-born suspect Sheikh was sentenced to death in 2002 for kidnapping and beheading the Wall Street Journal reporter in January of that year, a heinous crime that was filmed and sent to the US consulate. The other three suspects were all sentenced to life in prison.
The same county court that ordered their release on Thursday had quashed murder convictions and sentences in April this year, a move that stunned the U.S. government, Pearl’s family and journalistic advocacy groups.
The sheik’s conviction was downgraded to kidnapping, which carries up to seven years in prison, less than he had already served, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Pakistani government ordered that they remain behind bars until an appeal was filed, designating Sheikh as a specific release hazard.
Faisal Siddiqi, a lawyer from Pearl’s family, said the Sindh provincial government is appealing the order to release Sheikh.
The acquittals are now being separately appealed by both the Pakistani government and Pearl’s family. The Supreme Court will resume its hearing on January 5.
Pearl, a 38-year-old reporter from Encino, California, was kidnapped in Karachi on January 23, 2002, while investigating the links between Pakistani militants and “shoe bomber” Richard Reid.
In Sheikh’s original trial, emails showed that he had gained Pearl’s trust by sharing their experiences in anticipation of the birth of their first child, with Pearl’s wife Marianne, who gave birth to a son four months after the reporter’s murder. Adam.
Sheikh, a seasoned jihadist studying at the London School of Economics, was arrested days after Pearl’s kidnapping and later sentenced to death by hanging.
Pearl’s widow, however, had long predicted that he would never be killed that way.
“Just because he’s sentenced to death doesn’t mean he’ll die. Absolutely not, “she said in 2003.” I think he deserves to die and he should die, he’s a psychopath, ”she said.
However, a report from the Pearl Project to Georgetown University claims that the wrong men were convicted of Pearl’s murder.
Instead, the investigation says Pearl was murdered by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks. Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and is being held in Guantanamo Bay.
With wires