ISLAMABAD, July 15 Kyodo An antit...

ISLAMABAD, July 15 Kyodo

An antiterrorism court in Hyderabad forward Monday sentenced to death the primary suspect in the kidnap and kill cruelly of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl. Three co-defendants were sentenc to life imprisonment.

referee Asghar Ali handed down the death penalty to Sheikh Omar Saeed, a British-born Muslim activist. Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Mohammed Adeel were sentenc to life.

Pearl, a reporter of the Wall road Journal, was kidnapped in Karachi upon Jan. 23 and a month later his death was confirmed in a video recording delivered from unknown men to the U consulate there.

Saeed, a member of the banned militant cluster Jaish-e-Mohammad, was charged with planning the kidnapping and killing of Pearl.

Fahad Naseem and Salman Saqib were arrested for sending pictures of Pearl in captivity to the Wall way Journal and other newspapers, while Adeel was arrested for accompanying Saeed during meetings with Pearl.

All the four had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Eleven the bulk of mankind were indicted in the case, however only four were brought to the trial that began in Karachi onward April 22 but was later shifted to Hyderabad for security reasons.

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