Pakistani authorities on Thursday issued an emergency order preventing the release of four prisoners convicted in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, a day after their convictions were overturned.
British national Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted in 2002 for the murder of Pearl earlier that year, but his death sentences for abduction, murder, and terrorism were reduced to seven years for one charge of kidnapping. The convictions of three Pakistani men as accomplices to Sheikh were thrown out completely.
The appeals court in Karachi ruled earlier this week that there was a lack of evidence against Sheikh and his alleged accomplices and rejected computer evidence that the men sent ransom notes after Pearl was kidnapped.
The Sindh government used the Maintenance of Public Order law to detain the four men for another 90 days, arguing that they could threaten law and order in the province if released.
“I am shocked at the decision, especially its timing,” Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi remarked of the appeals court decision, saying the ruling harms Pakistan’s recent anti-terrorist efforts, for which he said they have sacrificed greatly.
“This verdict, for no reason, has put a question mark over Pakistan’s efforts,” he said.
The U.S. expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts to appeal the verdict, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells calling the appeals court ruling an “affront to victims of terrorism everywhere.”
“We welcome Pakistan’s decision to appeal the verdict. Those responsible for Daniel’s heinous kidnapping and murder must face the full measure of justice,” Wells said.
Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal, said in a statement Thursday that, “We continue to seek justice for the murder of Daniel Pearl. Danny was a cherished colleague and we will always honor his memory and service.”