A court in Pakistan set an April trial date for four men accused in the kidnap-slaying of Daniel Pearl. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged mastermind of the Jan. 23 kidnapping, and three accomplices will face trial April 5 before an anti-terrorism court on charges of murder, kidnapping and terrorism, chief prosecutor Raja Quereshi said. The trial will be held at a jail for security reasons. Saeed asked that his case be heard before a religious court based on Islamic law, but Judge Shabir Ahmad refused. Islamic courts in Pakistan do not deal with murder cases, focusing instead on adultery or civil disputes. Family and friends of the defendants gathered outside the judge's chambers, some shouted Quranic verses. Saeed attempted to scream a message to the crowd after leaving the courthouse, but police pushed him into an armored personnel carrier and whisked him back to jail.
This should be fairly Barnum and Bailey, providing an opportunity for a few riots and some anti-American shouting and posturing by the fundos. Regardless of the sentence handed out, Omar will probably be back on the street in a year. And because he's going on trial in Pakland, they can't extradite him to the US because that'd be double jeopardy. |