Omar Sheikh
Pakistan SC directs authorities to move Daniel Pearl murder accused Omar Sheikh from death cell to rest house
Islamabad: Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday directed authorities to move the prime accused in the journalist Daniel Pearl murder case Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh from a death cell in the Karachi Central Prison to a government rest house within the next two to three days, media reports said.
The apex court also directed authorities to ensure complete security of the rest house, and allowed Sheikh's family access to him from 8 am to 5 pm, while hearing a petition filed by the accused against his detention despite high court orders in this regard, reports Dawn News.
The accused, however, will not be given access to mobile and internet services while his family will be given accommodation and transport on the government's expense, according to the court's directives, the Pakistani newspaper reported.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the release of Islamist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh
The country's apex court dismissed an appeal by the Sindh government against the Sindh High Court (SHC) order for his immediate release.
The Sindh High Court had ordered the immediate release of Sheikh declaring his connection with the abduction and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl null and void.
The order to free Sheikh on Thursday was issued by a three-judge SC bench of Pakistan headed by Justice Mushir Alam. One member of the bench opposed the decision.
Sheikh was the main suspect in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
It was not immediately clear whether “acquittal” meant that he was freed of all the charges or that Sheikh had merely finished his jail terms.
Sheikh has served 18 years in jail and a life sentence is usually a maximum of 14 years.
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