A Pakistani court on Thursday ordered the immediate release of four suspects in the beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl, challenging his own government, which had demanded that they remain behind bars.
The Sindh High Court issued a written order for the accused brain Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and the alleged cohorts Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Adil and Salman Saqib to be “immediately released from prison”, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP ).
“The release could take place today and, if not, in the next 24 hours,” said male lawyer Mahmood Sheikh, who has nothing to do with the jailed militant.
“There is no legal problem to release them,” he added, despite orders from the Pakistani government to keep them detained.
The British-born suspect Sheikh was sentenced to death in 2002 for the kidnapping and beheading of the Wall Street Journal journalist in January of that year, a horrific crime that was filmed and sent to the US consulate. The other three suspects were sentenced to life in prison.
In April of that year, the same provincial court that ordered his release Thursday had overturned murder convictions and sentences, a move that surprised the U.S. government, Pearl’s family and groups. of defense of journalism.
Sheikh’s sentence was reduced to a kidnapping, which carries a maximum of seven years in prison, less than he had already served, the Wall Street Journal said.
The Pakistani government ordered them to remain behind bars until the appeals were heard, and pointed to the sheikh as a specific danger if released.
Faisal Siddiqi, a lawyer for Pearl’s family, said the Sindh provincial government is appealing the sheikh’s release order.
Both the Pakistani government and the Pearl family are separately appealing the acquittals. The Supreme Court will resume its hearing on January 5th.
After revoking the sentences, Pearl’s widow, Mariane, told actress Angelina Jolie in an interview for Time magazine: “The facts are clear and those responsible for Danny’s death belong to the prison.”
Pearl, a 38-year-old journalist from Encino, California, was abducted on January 23, 2002 in Karachi while investigating links between Pakistani militants and “shoe bomber” Richard Reid.
In Sheikh’s original trial, emails showed that he gained Pearl’s trust by sharing his experiences awaiting the birth of his first child, with Pearl’s wife giving birth to his son, Adam, four months later. of the murder.
Sheikh, an experienced jihadist who studied at the London School of Economics, was arrested days after Pearl’s abduction and later sentenced to death by hanging.
Pearl’s widow had long predicted that she would never be murdered this way.
“The fact that he was sentenced to death does not mean that he will die. Definitely not, he said in 2003. “I think he deserves to die and he should die, he’s a psycho,” he said.
However, a report published by the Pearl Project at Georgetown University has stated that the wrong men were convicted of Pearl’s murder.
Instead, the investigation says Pearl was killed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and is being held at Guantanamo Bay.
With publishing cables