Lawyers defending British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh said they had appealed today against his conviction and death sentence for the
kidnap and murder of US reporter Daniel Pearl.
Omar's defence lawyer Mr Abdul Waheed Katpar said his client's conviction had been based on "fake, false and provenly planted evidence" and said there had been a gross miscarriage of justice.
"It's an excellent case for appeal," Mr Katpar told reporters after filing a six-page appeal at the provincial Sindh High Court in Karachi. "I am 100 per cent sure about my success, I am very confident."
An Anti-Terrorist Court in Hyderabad sentenced Sheikh Omar to death and jailed three accomplices for life on Monday on charges of conspiracy, kidnap and the murder of Wall Street Journalreporter Pearl.
In the appeal, Katpar listed 10 grounds for the conviction to be overturned, although none made any reference to particular evidence presented by the prosecution, instead arguing in general terms that the conviction had not been valid.