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Family of Murdered US Journalist Calls Pakistani Court Decision 'Travesty of
Justice'

Niala Mohammad

   WASHINGTON - The family of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, who was
   kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002, say they will appeal a
   decision by a Pakistani court this week that acquitted Ahmed Omar Saeed
   Sheikh and three others convicted of the murder.

   "We absolutely, as Danny's friends and family, believe that the
   overturning of the convictions for murder is a great injustice to
   Danny," said Asra Nomani, a close friend and former colleague of Pearl.

   "We believe that it's a travesty of justice," Nomani told VOA, adding
   that "Danny's family is investigating and appealing the decision."

   Pearl, 38, was a Wall Street Journal reporter covering Pakistani
   extremists when he was kidnapped in Karachi in January 2002 and was
   killed weeks later. Three men accused of involvement in the murder
   subsequently were convicted and handed sentences of life imprisonment,
   while the fourth one, British national Sheikh, was convicted and
   sentenced to death.

   The four men had been in prison for 18 years until Thursday, when the
   high court in Sindh province overturned their convictions and decided
   to release them. Despite the ruling, the men remain in detention as
   Pakistani authorities Friday said they had "sufficient reason" to
   rearrest the men and hold them for three more months as the government
   announced it would challenge the court's verdict.

   WATCH:Pakistani court decision in Daniel Pearl case comes under
   scrutiny

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