Ahmed Omar Said Sheikh
A panel of the Pakistani Supreme Court has ordered the release of Islamist Ahmed Omar Said Sheikh, who was accused of beheading journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. Reported by Reuters.
According to their information, two out of three judges voted to acquit the accused and release him from custody.
Pearl, who ran The Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau, was kidnapped in Karachi in January 2002. The Islamists demanded, in exchange for his release, the release of the guantanamo militants. In February, the journalist's throat was slit and then his head cut off. His execution is captured on video that was sent to the US authorities. Pearl's body was discovered in May 2002.
The Sheikh was the prime suspect in the kidnapping and murder of the journalist. He was sentenced to death in July 2002. In April 2020, the court overturned the sentence, replacing the death penalty with a prison sentence of seven years.
