Death Sentence for Pearl Slaying

H Y D E R A B A D, Pakistan, July 15, 2002 -- A Pakistani court today sentenced a British-born Islamic militant to death by hanging for kidnapping and killing U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl amid fears of a violent backlash by hardliners in the South Asian nation.

A special anti-terrorist court in the Pakistani city of Hyderabad today convicted four men in Pearl's kidnap and killing. Sheik Omar Saeed was sentenced to death and three other co-accused received 25-year jail sentences.

As the Pearl family welcomed the ruling today, Pakistani authorities braced for a retaliation following Saeed's threat of reprisals and his call on Muslims to launch a jihad, or holy war, to protest the ruling.

In a statement read by his lawyer, Saeed called the trial a "waste of time" and issued a personal warning to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, whose support for Washington's war on terror has been fiercely criticized by Islamic hardliners.

"Musharraf should know that Almighty Allah is there and can gethis revenge," said Saeed. "Now the jihad between Islam and non-Muslims is going on and everybody is showingwhether he is in favor of Islam or in favor of the nonbelievers."

Omar's lawyer, Rai Bashir, also told reporters the defense wouldappeal the verdict.

Hours after the ruling, the Pearl family, including his widow Mariane, hailed the verdict. "We, the parents, wife, and sisters of Daniel Pearl, are grateful for the tireless efforts by authorities in Pakistan and the United States to bring those guilty of Danny's kidnapping and murder to justice," they said.

Three other co-accused, Fahad Naseem, Salman Saqib and Sheikh Adil, were also found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, which usually means 25 years in jail in Pakistan.

The defendants were also collectively fined $32,000. Chief prosecutor Raja Quereshi said the money would go to Pearl's widow and their infant son, Adam, who was born on May 28, months after his father was kidnapped in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.

Tight Security, Fears of Unrest

Security was tight at the prison where the special court was in session in Hyderabad today as Judge Ali Ashrar Shah announced the verdict. Reporters were barred from the trial, but lawyers said the accused showed no reaction as the verdict was read.

While the streets of Hyderabad were quiet after the news of the sentencing was released, the U.S. Embassy in the capital of Islamabad went on a "heightened state of security readiness," an embassy spokesman told reporters.

Security was also tightened in several Pakistani cities today, especially in Karachi, which has been the scene of recent attacks against foreigners and has traditionally been a hotbed of Islamic extremism.

In a statement released to the press today, the United JehadCouncil, an organization of 15 militant groups, said the verdict would "definitely add to the hatred against America."

Pakistan has been under enormous international pressure to bring the perpetrators of Pearl's killing to justice as Musharraf has vowed to crackdown on Islamic militants who have been operating in Afghanistan and the disputed region of Kashmir.

In London, the British government welcomed the verdicts butopposed the death sentence for Saeed.

Attacks Against Foreign Targets This Year

Pearl was kidnapped on Jan. 23 in Karachi while researching a story on alleged "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who was arrested in December on a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives in his shoes.

Days after his disappearance, several news agencies received e-mails with photographs of the American journalist in chains and one with a gun to his head.

A previously unknown group, the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty, took responsibility for the kidnapping and demanded the release of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A month after his kidnapping, a gruesome videotape of Pearl's slaying was delivered to the U.S. consulate in Karachi.

After a huge investigative operation, which was launched across the country, Pakistani police found a body in a grave on the outskirts of Karachi in May, but they have not yet confirmed whether the remains are those of Pearl.

An alumni of the London School of Economics, Saeed is believed to have got radicalized by the Balkan crisis in 1990 and has been accused of conducting guerrilla operations in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Pearl's gruesome murder was one of several attacks against Westerners in Pakistan this year.

In March, a grenade attack on a church in Islamabad killed five people, including three foreigners. In May, a suicide car bomber killed 11 French engineers and two Pakistanis outside a Karachi hotel.

And last month, 12 Pakistanis were killed and 20 others were seriously injured in a car bomb attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi.

ABCNEWS' Martin Seemugal in Pakistan contributed to this report.