Pakistan court overturns murder convictions in Daniel Pearl case

Washington, D.C., April 2, 2020–In response to the decision of the Sindh High Court in Pakistan to overturn the murder convictions of four men accused in the 2002 killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:

“The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disappointed to see justice in the murder case of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl denied by a Pakistani court today,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “We urge prosecutors to appeal the decision, which found Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh guilty only of kidnapping Pearl in a crime that led directly to his murder.”

Sheikh, who had previously faced a death sentence, had his sentence reduced to seven years for the crime of kidnapping, which could lead to his release shortly since he has been in prison since 2002. The court also overturned the convictions of three others in the case.