SHC reserves verdict on appeals of Daniel Pearl murder convicts

Ahmad Omer Sheikh was sentenced to death for kidnapping and killing the journalist


Hasnaat Malik March 07, 2020
The WSJ journalist was kidnapped on January 23, 2002, in Karachi and later beheaded by his captors when their demands were not met. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: The Sindh High Court has reserved its judgment on appeals filed by Ahmed Omar Sheikh and three others against their conviction in the kidnapping and murder case of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

After five days of consecutive hearings, a high court division bench led by Justice KK Agha reserved its ruling on Friday.

Pearl, a US national and the South Asian region bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped on January 23, 2002, in Karachi and later beheaded by his captors when their demands were not met.

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The main convict, Ahmad Omer Sheikh, was sentenced to death for kidnapping and killing the journalist, and his three accomplices – Fahad Naseem, Syed Salman Saqib and Sheikh Muhammad Adil – were sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs500,000 each by a Hyderabad anti-terrorism court on July 15, 2002.

The lawyers for the four men contended that the prosecution had failed to provide enough evidence to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that their clients participated or abetted in the crime.

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