Court orders man convicted in reporter Daniel Pearl’s murder released from jail

A court in Pakistan on Thursday ordered for the release of the man who was convicted in 2002 for orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Omar Sheikh, a British national, is set to be released from temporary detention following the order, the Journal reported, adding that he has been held in jail since his original conviction was overturned.

The court, which is based in the southern city of Karachi, Pakistan, ruled earlier this year against giving Sheikh a death sentence for allegations of terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, and murder while lessening his conviction to kidnapping alone, which holds a maximum of seven years in prison, according to the newspaper.

Sheikh had already served 18 years of his sentence at the time. His three accomplices had their convictions overturned in the April ruling, the Journal noted.

Despite that ruling, all remained in prison under emergency detention. On Thursday, the court determined that the emergency detention powers used by Pakistani authorities were not justified.

“The court has directed that they will not be arrested by any agency, no action detrimental to their liberty will be taken,” Sheikh’s lawyer told the Journal, adding that he expects Sheikh to be released this week.

Pearl’s family appealed the Karachi court’s April decision to overturn Sheikh’s conviction to the Supreme Court. That case is set to be heard in January.

Pearl was working in Pakistan in 2002 researching the country’s military network when he was kidnapped and later killed.