Pearl Suspects' Trial Set for April 5

30/03/2002| IslamWeb

 * Trial in Jail * Omar Wants Islamic Court * USA Indictes Omar  _______

KARACHI (Reuters) - The trial of four leading suspects in the kidnap and murder of U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl will begin on April 5 in Karachi's main jail, a prosecutor said Friday.

British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and fellow accused Sheikh Adil were brought to court in the southern port city Friday for a closed-door hearing in the judge's chambers.
Both men, along with two suspected accomplices, were charged last week with the kidnap and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl, who disappeared in Karachi on January 23. A gruesome video later surfaced showing Pearl had been murdered.
Defense lawyers said they would challenge the decision to hold the trial inside a prison, saying Omar had asked for it to be held in an Islamic court.
Khawaja Naveed, the defense lawyer for Sheikh Adil, said Omar had asked for a trial under Islamic law.
Pearl disappeared while trying to contact Islamic radical groups and investigate possible links between alleged shoe-bomber Richard Reid and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
Police said two other suspects, Salman Saquib and Fahad Naseem, had confessed to their roles in the kidnap before a lower court earlier this month and had not been required in court Friday.
But several other suspects are on the run, including the people police believe may have guarded Pearl and carried out the murder.
The U.S. government has also indicted Omar for hostage-taking and requested his extradition, but Pakistan says it wants to conduct its own trial first. He could face the death penalty in either country if found guilty.

PHOTO CAPTION:
British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh is surrounded by armed police as he arrives at court in Karachi, Pakistan, March 29, 2002. The trial of four leading suspects, including Sheikh Omar, in the kidnap and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, will begin April 5 in the central jail in Karachi, a prosecutor said Friday. (Zahid Hussain/Reuters)