Daniel Pearl's family to appeal verdict freeing men convicted of his murder

Judges in Pakistan overturned the convictions of the four extremists found guilty of kidnapping and beheading the journalist

Dr Judea Pearl, the father of murdered American journalist Daniel Pearl. AP

The family of US journalist Daniel Pearl plans to appeal to Pakistan’s Supreme Court to overturn the decision to free the four men convicted of his murder.

Pearl, 38, was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was abducted by militants in Karachi in January 2002. He was beheaded by his captors.

On Thursday, a panel of three court judges threw out the murder convictions that year against the four extremists, led by British-born Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh.

The men’s kidnapping convictions were left in place, but they were freed because they had already served their sentences for that offence.

The Pearl family “intends to file a review petition against the illegal and unjust majority decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” the family’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui, said on Saturday.

Lawyers for Pearl’s family argued that Sheikh played a central role in organising the abduction and detention of the journalist before ordering his captors to kill him.

But defence lawyers said he was a scapegoat and sentenced on insufficient evidence.

“It is beyond belief that Ahmad Omar Sheikh – who after 18 years of lies, had finally admitted in a handwritten letter to the court his role in the kidnapping for ransom of Daniel Pearl – has been given a clean slate and let loose once again upon the world to continue his international terrorist activities,” Pearl’s family said.

The men – who have been detained under the emergency orders of Sindh government since their acquittal last year – still have court challenges linked to their case.

Sheikh was born in England to Pakistani parents and studied at the London School of Economics.

He had been involved in previous kidnappings of foreigners and was arrested days after Pearl’s abduction. Sheikh was later sentenced to death.

On Friday, Pakistan’s provincial Sindh government also filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to review its decision. A hearing for that appeal was set for Monday.

Washington expressed concern over the ruling. On Friday, in his first phone call with Pakistan’s foreign minister, new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for accountability.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said last week the administration of US President Joe Biden was “outraged by the Pakistani Supreme Court’s decision”.