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Pearl Murder Suspects Charged
Friday, March 22, 2002
(6:00 AM PT)
By Zahid Hussain
Associated Press Writer

Two of the suspects, Naseem and Saqib, also have submitted confessions implicating Saeed in the plot. Their lawyer said Thursday that he would move to have the confessions blocked.

KARACHI, Pakistan -- AP
The alleged mastermind of the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was charged with murder in a Pakistani anti-terrorism court Friday, along with 10 accomplices.

Chief prosecutor Raja Quereshi presented the charges amid unprecedented security, with 100 armed police officers ringing the courthouse.

The indictment accuses Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three other Islamic militants who are in custody of murder, kidnapping and terrorism in Pearl's death. Seven other suspects who remain at large face the same charges.

Saeed and alleged accomplice Sheikh Mohammed Adeel were escorted to the court by two dozen armored personnel carriers mounted with machine guns. The other two suspects in custody, Fahad Naseem and Salman Saqib, were not present.

The court was scheduled to convene again March 29, when a judge is expected to decide whether there's enough evidence to accept the charges. Once that step is taken, a trial would begin immediately.

Saeed, a British-educated Islamic militant, is the key suspect in the Jan. 23 kidnapping in the southern port city of Karachi.
(More: The Las Vegas Sun News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan