ISLAMABAD (AP) – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday ordered the release of a convicted Pakistani man who was later acquitted in the horrific beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.
The court also dismissed an appeal for the acquittal of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh by the Pearl family and the Pakistani government.
Sheikh has been on death row since his conviction for Pearl’s death in 2002. His lawyer said Sheikh “should not have spent a day in prison”.
Lawyer Mehmood A. Sheikh, unrelated, said the court also ordered the release of three other Pakistanis who were sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in Pearl’s kidnapping and death.
“Today’s decision is a complete farce of justice and the release of these killers endangers journalists everywhere and the people of Pakistan,” said the Pearl family in a statement released by their lawyer, Faisal Siddiqi.
The Supreme Court of three judges ruled 2-1 in favor of maintaining Sheikh’s acquittal and ordered him to be released, Siddiqi said.
Washington said earlier that it would require Sheikh to be extradited to the United States to stand trial there. There was no immediate reaction from the United States Embassy to the court order that upheld the appeal.
“We urge the United States government to take all necessary measures according to the law to correct this injustice. We also expect the Pakistani authorities to take all necessary measures to rectify this farce of justice, ”said the Pearl family.
Siddiqi, the lawyer for the Pearl family, said the only legal way after the court ruling that sustained Sheikh’s acquittal would be to ask for a review of the court’s decision. However, he said the review will be conducted by the same court that upheld the appeal. “In practical terms,” there are no longer legal avenues to be followed in Pakistan, he said.
Sheikh was convicted of helping to lure Pearl into a meeting in the port city of Karachi, in southern Pakistan, during which he was abducted. Pearl was investigating the connection between Pakistani militants and Richard C. Reid, nicknamed “Shoe Bomber” after trying to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.
Pearl disappeared on January 23 while investigating militants’ connections with the alleged shoe bomber. His body was discovered in a shallow grave shortly after a horrific video of his beheading was handed over to the U.S. consulate in Karachi.