Apr 2, 2020 - World

Pakistan overturns murder conviction in killing of U.S. journalist

A memorial for Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Photo: Sion Touhig/Getty Images

A Pakistan appeals court has overturned the murder conviction and death sentence of the man convicted of killing U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reported early Thursday.

The big picture: Pearl, who was the Journal's South Asia correspondent, was abducted in Karachi in 2002. British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh had his sentence reduced to seven years, and three other men, who were originally given life sentences for helping him, were acquitted, per the BBC. A report by the Pearl Project at Georgetown University alleged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is being held in Guantanamo Bay over the 9/11 attacks, carried out the journalist's beheading.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

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