CONVICTION OVERTURNED

Pakistani Court Orders Release of Man Accused of Killing American Journalist Daniel Pearl

Omar Sheikh was previously convicted and sentenced to death for the killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl, but the court found him guilty only of kidnapping.

A court in Pakistan has ordered the release of one of the men previously convicted of the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl. The Sindh High Court in Karachi, where Pearl was killed, ruled that Omar Sheikh should be released by December 27. Pearl, a Wall Street Journal bureau chief, was abducted and beheaded in 2002. Sheikh was originally sentenced to death for the killing, and three others were also found guilty, but a Pakistani court overturned the convictions in April, finding Sheikh guilty only of kidnapping Pearl and acquitting the others. Sheikh’s confinement has continued as his conviction’s cancellation was appealed, but the detention was deemed illegal by the court.