A Pakistani prosecutor has charged four Islamic militants with the murder of Wall Street Journalreporter Daniel Pearl.
Mr Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three accomplices are accused of murder, kidnapping and terrorism.
|
|
Daniel Pearl
|
The three other suspects - Mr Fahad Naseem, Sheikh Mohammed Adeel and Mr Salman Saqib - were arrested on January 30th. Prosecutors have linked them to e-mails announcing Mr Pearl's death. A trial is set to begin on March 29th after a judge reviews the evidence. Seven others, at large, were accused in the prosecutor's indictment.
Mr Saeed, a British-educated Islamic militant, is the key suspect in the January 23rd kidnapping in Karachi. He confessed during a court session last month that he abducted Mr Pearl but has since withdrawn the statement, which was not made under oath and is considered inadmissible.
The case against Mr Saeed relies heavily on the testimony of a taxi driver, who told police he drove Mr Pearl to a restaurant and saw him shake hands with Mr Saeed before getting into a car with him.
In February, a videotape received by the US Consulate in Karachi confirmed Mr Pearl had been murdered. The indictment alleges Mr Saeed trained at Afghan military camps and fought alongside Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters last September and October as the war in Afghanistan was beginning.
AP