US slams Pakistan court's overturning of sentence in Daniel Pearl murder

US slams Pakistan court's overturning of sentence in Daniel Pearl murder
The US has slammed the overturning of the convictions for Daniel Pearl's murder as an 'affront' to victims of terrorism.
1 min read
03 April, 2020
Daniel Pearl was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal [Getty]

The United States on Thursday criticised a Pakistani court's overturning of a death sentence handed down over the gruesome killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl, calling the decision an "affront."

"The overturning of the convictions for Daniel Pearl's murder is an affront to victims of terrorism everywhere," said Alice Wells, the top US diplomat for South Asia.

She welcomed indications that Pakistani prosecutors would appeal the decision on British-born militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.

"Those responsible for Daniel's heinous kidnapping and murder must face the full measure of justice," Wells wrote on Twitter.

Pearl, 38, was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was abducted in Karachi in January 2002 while researching a story about Islamist militants.

In January 2011, a report released by the Pearl Project at Georgetown University following an investigation into his death made chilling revelations, claiming that the wrong men were convicted for Pearl's murder.

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