Court orders release of man charged in case

KARACHI, PAKISTAN >> A provincial court in Pakistan on Thursday ordered the release of a British-born Pakistani man charged in the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

The Sindh High Court’s release order overturns government detention orders that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the key suspect in Pearl’s slaying, should remain in custody. Sheikh was acquitted earlier this year of murdering Pearl, but has been held while Pearl’s family appeals the acquit-tal. "The detention order is struck down,” said Faisal Siddiqi, the family’s lawyer. He said Sheikh would be freed until the appeal is completed, but would return to prison if the family is successful in overturning the acquittal.

However, Siddiqi said the Sindh provincial government is appealing the order to release Sheikh.

Sheikh’s lawyer Mehmood A. Sheikh, with whom he is not related, called for his client’s immediate release.

The court order, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, said the provincial government’s detention orders were illegal and that neither the provincial nor the federal government had cause to keep Sheikh or three others, also charged in Pearl’s murder, behind bars.

Sheikh was sentenced to death and the others to life in prison for their role in the plot. But in April, the Sindh High Court acquitted them, a move that stunned the U.S. government, Pearl’s family and journalism advocacy groups.

The acquittal is now being appealed separately by both the Pakistani government and Pearl’s family. The government has opposed Sheikh’s release, saying it would endanger the public.