Suspect in Pearl’s killing is freed

A court in Pakistan orders the release of man charged in 2002 slaying of journalist.

KARACHI, Pakistan — A provincial court in Pakistan on Thursday ordered the man charged in the 2002 killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl freed, his defense lawyer said.

The Sindh High Court’s release order overturns a decision by Pakistan’s top court that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the key suspect in Pearl’s slaying, should remain in custody. Sheikh was acquitted of murdering Pearl this year but has been held while Pearl’s family appeals the acquittal.

Sheikh’s lawyer Mehmood A. Sheikh, to whom he is not related, called for his client to be released immediately.

“The detention order is struck down,” said Faisal Siddiqi, the Pearl family lawyer. Sheikh will be freed until the appeal is completed, he said, but will be returned to prison if the family succeeds in overturning the acquittal.

Sheikh was sentenced to death and three others were sentenced to life in prison for their role in the plot. A lower court in April acquitted him and three others, stunning the U. S. government, Pearl’s family and journalism advocacy groups.

The acquittal is being appealed separately by the government and Pearl’s family. The government has opposed Sheikh’s release, saying it would endanger the public. The Supreme Court will resume its hearing on Jan. 5.

Sheikh had been convicted of helping lure Pearl to a meeting in the southern port city of Karachi in which he was kidnapped. Pearl, who worked for the Wall Street Journal, had been investigating the link between Pakistani militants and Richard Reid, dubbed the “shoe bomber” after trying to blow up a f light from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.