Pakistan court commutes death sentence of key accused in Daniel Pearl murder case

A court in Pakistan on Thursday commuted the death sentence of the main accused in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and acquitted three co-accused in the case, BBC reported.

At least four people were convicted in connection with Pearl’s murder, including British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was sentenced to death in 2002 for being the mastermind. The court commuted his death sentence to a prison term of seven years, lawyer Khawaja Naveed said.

The lawyer said his client’s sentence has been reduced to seven years for the kidnapping as the murder charges have not been proven. “Omar has already served 18 years, so his release orders will be issued sometime today,” Naveed added. “He will be out in a few days.”