Pakistan court orders suspect of Pearl's death freed

(28 Jan 2021) Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh, a Pakistani man convicted and later acquitted in the gruesome beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. The court also dismissed an appeal against the acquittal lodged by Pearl's family and the Pakistani government. Sheikh has been on death row since his conviction over the death of Pearl in 2002. His attorney said the court also ordered the release of three other Pakistanis who had been sentenced to life in prison for their part in Pearl's kidnapping and death. Sheikh was convicted of helping lure Pearl to a meeting in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, during which he was kidnapped. Pearl had been investigating the link between Pakistani militants and Richard C. Reid, dubbed the "Shoe Bomber" after trying to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes. His body was discovered in a shallow grave soon after a gruesome video of his beheading was delivered to the U.S. consulate in Karachi. "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 family said in a statement released by their lawyer, Faisal Siddiqi. The three-judge Supreme Court ruled 2 to 1 in favor of upholding Sheikh's acquittal and ordered him released, said Siddiqi. Washington previously said it would demand Sheikh be extradited to the United States to be tried there. There was no immediate reaction from the U.S. Embassy to the court order upholding the appeal. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...