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Pakistan court upholds acquittal in Pearl murder case

February 2, 2021

The US journalist was kidnapped and murdered in Karachi in 2002. This is the latest in a series of court battles concerning the alleged perpetrators.

https://p.dw.com/p/3oho0
A picture of Daniel Pearl at an undisclosed location with a copy of the English language newspaper Dawn
Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi in 2002Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Washington Post

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh be released from prison and moved to a government "safe house."

The Pakistani-British man had been on death row for 18 years for his alleged role in the kidnapping and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

But on Thursday, a three-judge Supreme Court bench directed authorities to release Sheikh and three co-defendants.

Defense lawyers argued Sheikh was a scapegoat and sentenced on insufficient evidence.

A day later, Pakistan's government appealed to the court to review its decision. But the review panel on Tuesday stood by the Supreme Court ruling.

The earlier ruling triggered outrage from Pearl's family and the US administration.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh will still be under 24-hour guard at a government safe houseImage: AFP/A. Quereshi

'A step towards freedom'

Justice Omar Ata Bandyal, who headed the review panel, said: "He should be moved to a comfortable residential environment, something like a rest house where he can live a normal life."

In the government-run safe house, Sheikh will be under a 24-hour guard, often by military personnel. He will not be allowed to leave the house, use the phone or access the internet. But his wife and children can visit him.

Locations of such safe houses are usually kept secret. Pakistan's security establishment has several such facilities across the country.

"It is not a complete freedom. It is a step toward freedom," the prisoner's father, Saeed Sheikh, told news agency Reuters.

The terms of Sheikh's release will become clearer once a written order is made public.

Anger at release

The regional government in Sindh province, where Sheikh has been held behind bars, has refused successive orders to release inmate, leading to contempt charges from lower courts. Pearl disappeared from Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, while researching for a story about Islamist militants in the city.

The US government has said that it would seek Sheikh's extradition if his acquittal is upheld.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken repeated a call for accountability in his first phone call with Pakistan's foreign minister on Friday before the review panel made its decision.

kmm/nm (AP, Reuters, dpa)