(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an RSF press release: The police have arrested Sheikh Omar, the main suspect in the abduction of journalist Daniel Pearl Reporters Sans Frontières is delighted that the principal suspect in the abduction of reporter Daniel Pearl was arrested on the afternoon of February 12, 2002. Sheikh Omar reportedly told investigators […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an RSF press release:
The police have arrested Sheikh Omar, the main suspect in the abduction of journalist Daniel Pearl
Reporters Sans Frontières is delighted that the principal suspect in the abduction of reporter Daniel Pearl was arrested on the afternoon of February 12, 2002. Sheikh Omar reportedly told investigators that the Wall Street Journal journalist is still alive. Pakistani police have yet to find Daniel Pearl. “After giving priority to tracking down the main suspect, the Pakistani authorities now need to put as much energy and resources into their efforts to free Daniel Pearl,” stated Robert Ménard, Secretary-General of RSF.
On February 12, the Pakistani police arrested Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, better known as Sheikh Omar, one of the leaders of the outlawed fundamentalist movement Jaish-e-Mohammad and the probable mastermind behind the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl on January 23, 2002. Sheikh Omar was questioned by police in Lahore (Punjab province), and has apparently already confessed that the American journalist is alive and being held hostage in Karachi. The suspect should be transferred to Karachi (Sindh province), where the investigation is based, in the next few hours, by a special plane.
The arrest of Sheikh Omar, identified on February 5 by the Pakistani police as the principal suspect, is the result of a far-reaching investigation by the Pakistani police and the FBI in Karachi that also extended to Islamabad and Lahore. The arrest of Sheikh Omar was apparently made possible following the arrest of another suspect in Islamabad on February 11, 2002.
Reporters Sans Frontières has collected all the details on the circumstances of Daniel Pearl’s abduction and the actions in support of his release in a dossier that is available online at www.rsf.org. It is updated daily.
