The lawyer for a Pakistani man convicted and later acquitted in the 2002 killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl said Wednesday that he will petition the Supreme Court to free his client.
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the key suspect in Pearl’s slaying, remains in custody in a jail in the southern port city of Karachi, despite the acquittal. Pearl’s family and the Pakistani government have appealed the acquittal to the Supreme Court, which resumed its hearing this week. A decision is expected before the end of the month.
Sheikh’s lawyer, Mehmood A. Sheikh, has been trying to get his client, who has been on death row for 18 years, freed since the acquittal.
The lawyer told The Associated Press he was demanding freedom for Sheikh in line with an order issued last month by the Sindh High Court. The lawyer, who is not related to Sheikh, said he also wants three other co-accused suspects freed. Their lesser charges of aiding and abetting were also overturned.
Last month, the U.S. warned it…