The Department of Justice warned Tuesday that the U.S. stands “ready to take custody” of the man convicted in Pakistan of murdering American journalist Daniel Pearl.
Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen said in a statement the U.S. will ensure that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and his co-defendants are held accountable, regardless of Pakistani court rulings. On Dec. 24, a Pakistani provincial court ordered the release of Sheikh, who was acquitted of murder charges earlier in the year, but he remains in custody because Pakistan’s government appealed the release, The Associated Press reported.
“We remain grateful for the Pakistani government’s actions to appeal such rulings to ensure that he and his co-defendants are held accountable,” Rosen said. “If, however, those efforts do not succeed, the United States stands ready to take custody of Omar Sheikh to stand trial here.” (RELATED: Pakistan Overturns Convictions In Murder Of Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl)
“We cannot allow him to evade justice for his role in Daniel Pearl’s abduction and murder,” he continued.
This undated photo shows Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter kidnapped and murdered by Islamic militants in Karachi, Pakistan in 2002. (Getty Images)
In April, a Pakistani court overturned Sheikh’s murder conviction, according to The AP. The court found him guilty of kidnapping and sentenced him to seven years in prison, which it determined had already been served since he had been on death row for 18 years.
The acquittal reportedly came as a shock to the Department of State, Pearl’s family and advocacy groups, according to The AP.
“The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disappointed to see justice in the murder case of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl denied by a Pakistani court today,” Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, said in a statement April.
Pearl had been on an assignment in 2002 for The Wall Street Journal investigating Pakistani ties to the so-called “Shoe Bomber” when he was abducted, according to The Washington Post. Shortly after his kidnapping, a video was delivered to the U.S. Consulate in Pakistan showing his gruesome murder.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called for the U.S. to extradite Sheikh in a Monday Wall Street Journal editorial.
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