The four men convicted for kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, are set to be released in Pakistan, as the Pakistani highest court ordered their release on Thursday, reported The Hill.
“By majority two to one, they have acquitted all the accused persons and ordered their release,” said Salman Talibuddin a provincial advocate general to Reuters, but is not clear if “acquitted” means they finished their sentence or they were cleared of charges.
The family lawyer, in a statement obtained by news outlets, said that the family of the journalist who was abducted in Pakistan in 2002 while investigating Islamist militants after the 9/11 attacks, was left “in complete shock” after the decision.
The attorney Faisal Siddiq commented about the decision as it was “complete travesty of justice” and directed the U.S. “to take all necessary actions under the law to correct this injustice,” referring to the family’s statement.
Three of the men were exonerated by a high court and the death penalty of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was reduced to life sentence, which last maximum of 14 years – an amount he already served, which led to a release. The Supreme Court denied all challenges to the acquittals and the Pearl family call for restoration of the death penalty.
The accused beheaded the journalist on camera in one of the first extremists hostage propaganda videos, and other terrorist organisations continued to use this method for spreading fear.
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