MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2021) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on Pakistan's Supreme Court to review its decision to release Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, a citizen who in 2002 killed Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl by beheading.
"The IFJ is disappointed in the Pakistan Supreme Court's ruling to release Ahmed Sheikh and regards the ruling as a denial of justice for Pearl's family and the media fraternity as a whole. The IFJ urges the court to review the decision," the organization said in a press release.
The IFJ pointed out that the three-judge court bench did not provide a clear justification for the ruling and only promised that the reasons would be "recorded later."
Quoting the Pearl family, the IFJ said they were "shocked" by the ruling and would try to petition for its review. The ruling has also shocked "the whole media community," according to the organization.
The legal process on Pearl's case went a long way. The journalist went to Pakistan in the wake of 9/11 attacks in the United States to investigate Islamist militants. Sheikh was among a group of four who purportedly abducted and killed Pearl in 2002.
In 2002, Sheikh was sentenced to death, while the other three suspects were sentenced to life imprisonment. Last April, the High Court of Pakistan's Sindh province overturned this ruling and acquitted all four, claiming a lack of evidence to prove their guilt. Amid public criticism, the suspected murderers continued to be kept behind bars.
Last Thursday, the Pakistani Supreme Court again overturned the original ruling and ordered for the suspects' release. The Pakistani government appealed the ruling the next day.
