The family of Daniel Pearl has issued a public protest against the release from jail of a Pakistani militant charged with abducting and murdering their son in 2002.
Daniel Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, met a gruesome death while investigating a link between the militant group Al Queda and an attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic American Airline flight the previous year.
Charged with masterminding Pearl’s abduction and death was Ahmed Omar Said Sheikh, who was initially sentenced to death by a Pakistani court, then acquitted but ordered held in prison pending an appeal against the acquittal by the Pearl family.
Last Thursday (Dec. 24), a provincial Pakistani court ordered Sheikh’s release, until the appeal is decided.
“We refuse to believe that the Pakistani people will let such a travesty of justice tarnish its name,” Judea Pearl and his wife Ruth stated in the opening sentence of their protest, which the father discussed during a phone call with the Jewish Journal.
“We are heartened to hear that the government of Pakistan is filing an appeal against the release order so that our son’s murderer will remain in jail and that justice will prevail,” the Pearl parents continued and added,
“We also have full confidence in the Supreme Court of Pakistan to provide justice for our beloved son and reinforce the paramount importance of the press.”
In memory of their son, the Pearl parents established the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which –rather than seek revenge- is dedicated to cross-cultural understanding between East and West. Its emphasis is on three fields in which Daniel excelled — journalism, music and dialogue.
Though reluctantly cast into the public spotlight, both parents enjoy distinguished professional careers on their own. Judea Pearl, born in Israel, is a UCLA professor emeritus in computer engineering and recognised as a path-breaking authority in the field of artificial intelligence.
He and his wife met while both were studying at the Technion in Israel. Ruth Pearl subsequently pursued a notable career in software engineering and as editor of the book “I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl.”
The son is also commemorated by his alma mater, Birmingham High School in Lake Balboa near Van Nuys, which has been renamed the Daniel Pearl Magnet High School.
