Sheikh Omar's court proceedings have been held in secret
Posted on 03/15/2002 9:11:15 AM PST by Cinnamon Girl
Sheikh Omar's court proceedings have been held in secret
The lawyer for the chief suspect in the kidnapping in Pakistan of murdered US journalist Daniel Pearl has dismissed his indictment in America as "absurd". Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, also known as Sheikh Omar, was indicted on Thursday for hostage taking and for conspiring to take hostages resulting in the death of Mr Pearl.
He was also indicted for the abduction of an American citizen in India in 1994.
Pakistan has reiterated that it would not consider extraditing Sheikh Omar to the US until its own investigations are concluded.
'Violation of law'
Sheikh Omar's lawyer, Saiful Malook, said that since Sheikh Omar was not accused for any offence committed on US soil, charges against him in the US were unfair.
He also told the AFP news agency that it would be a violation of international law to prosecute Sheikh Omar for the 1994 abduction of a US citizen in India because "he was tried there for six years".
Although Sheikh Omar was held in prison in India for several years, he was never charged over the kidnapping.
Investigators are still looking for Mr Pearl's body
India freed him as part of a deal to secure the release of passengers on a Indian Airlines plane hijacked in 1999.
Sheikh Omar has been under arrest in Pakistan for more than a month.
However, police have still not found enough evidence to lay formal charges against him.
Weapon not found
Daniel Pearl disappeared in Karachi on 23 January while chasing a story about Islamic militants.
A video showing his beheading was handed to US and Pakistani officials nearly one month later.
Neither his body, nor the murder weapon, have been found.
US Attorney General John Ashcroft said on Thursday that Sheikh Omar could face the death penalty if found guilty in the US on the indictments brought against him.
One of the indictments charges that "in the early weeks of 2002 [Sheikh Omar] led a ring who carefully and methodically set a death trap for Pearl and savagely ended his life," Mr Ashcroft said.
Sheikh Omar allegedly kidnapped Mr Pearl, Mr Ashcroft said, in an attempt to influence American policy following the 11 September attacks on America.
The indictment was issued in New Jersey because the corporate headquarters of Dow Jones & Company, which owns the Wall Street Journal where Daniel Pearl worked, is based there.
Sheikh Omar + ISI + U.S. Indictment + Accusations that Daniel Pearl was associated with Israeli Intelligence + Musharraf - Any desire to further enrage the terrorist rings = INNOCENT
And what are they gonna do with a weapon? Use DNA testing to convict him? What idiots! Do they really think they are gonna find that particular weapon when 99% of the population carries some kind of gun or knife. This guy is gonna walk. I know it. The Pakistani government will never convict him and they will never hand him over. They are a bunch of cowards.
Attorney General Transcript
News Conference - Indictment in Daniel Pearl Case
Thursday, March 14, 2002
DOJ Conference Center
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Good afternoon.
Today I'm announcing a grand jury's indictment of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British citizen currently in custody of Pakistani authorities, for acts of terrorism against two United States citizens. Saeed is charged with the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl and the 1994 kidnapping of a United States citizen in India. A grand jury in the district of New Jersey has returned an indictment charging Saeed with hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, resulting in the death of Daniel Pearl.
In addition, we are today unsealing an indictment filed in November of last year, charging Saeed with the 1994 armed kidnapping of Bela J. Nuss, an American tourist, in India.
If Saeed is found guilty of the crimes he is charged with committing against Daniel Pearl, he could receive the death penalty. Conviction in the Nuss case carries the maximum penalty of life in prison.
It has now been three weeks since the mystery of Daniel Pearl's disappearance was resolved tragically by the news of his brutal murder. In this time, in the face of this tragedy, Mariane Pearl, Daniel's widow, has refused to concede defeat to terrorists. She has instead rallied Americans and citizens of all nations to unite against the evil that took the life of the father of her unborn son. She has been an eloquent and forceful reminder to all of us that what is at stake in the fight against terrorism is nothing less than the values of free speech and open inquiry that Daniel cherished, the values that protect and undergird the freedom we enjoy.
This morning I had the opportunity to meet with Mrs. Pearl, and I thank her and I commend her for her courage and the resolve that she has shown. With today's indictment, I'm honored to be able to offer to Mariane Pearl a measure of solace and this pledge: The United States has not forsaken your husband nor the values that he embodied and cherished. The story of Daniel Pearl -- that he died trying to tell -- will be told, and justice will be done.
I want to thank Larry Thompson, my deputy attorney general, for his work in assembling in the Department of Justice an unprecedented prosecution team to bring the full weight of our resources to bear on prosecuting the indictments being announced today. Deputy Attorney General Thompson worked hard with two United States attorneys in whose separate jurisdictions these indictments were brought, and worked hard to bring these two individuals together to combine their knowledge and expertise for this prosecution.
Chris Christie, our U.S. attorney in New Jersey, will work with our U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Roscoe Howard -- where is Roscoe? -- thank you -- right next to him -- to prosecute Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh for the crimes with which he is charged in both the Pearl and Nuss cases. Mr. Christie and Mr. Howard are here today, and I thank them both for the work that they've already done and for the talent and dedication that they will devote to the cause of justice as they move these cases forward.
In addition, I want to thank Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff and the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, as well as Dale Watson, the FBI's executive assistant director for counterterrorism and counterintelligence. The FBI worked very hard in this matter. They have devoted the kind of effort and energy that's necessary to make these kinds of cases. And I'm grateful to the FBI for their untiring fight in the war against terrorism.
The indictment in the Pearl case announced today states that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh is affiliated with radical militant organizations. The indictment charges further that Saeed trained in military camps in Afghanistan and, in or about September and October 2001, fought in Afghanistan with Taliban and al Qaeda forces
The grand jury charges that in the opening weeks of 2002, Saeed led a ring of co-conspirators who carefully and methodically set a death trap for Daniel Pearl, lured him into it with lies, and savagely ended his life. The indictment states that Saeed and his co-conspirators purposefully set out to take hostage -- pardon me -- set out to take hostage an acclaimed journalist from an influential United States newspaper in order to change U.S. policies in the war against terrorism and to achieve other goals.
Using the Internet to communicate, Saeed assumed a false identity to lure Daniel Pearl to a meeting in Karachi with a fictitious source. It was from this meeting that Pearl was abducted.
In the captivity of his kidnappers the indictment charges that Daniel Pearl was kept in seclusion under the use and threat of violence. His kidnappers communicated their demands to various media outlets by e-mail, beginning with a message sent on January the 26th that included a photograph of Pearl with a gun pointed at his head. In a second e-mail sent January 30th, Daniel Pearl's kidnappers threatened to execute him if their demands were not met and threatened the lives of other American journalists in Pakistan. But before that message was sent, the indictment charges the conspirators had already brutally killed Daniel Pearl and videotaped the mutilation of his body.
The additional indictment against Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, being unsealed today, makes clear that Daniel Pearl was not the first American to fall victim to terror at the hands of Saeed. In October 1994, the indictment charges, Saeed met Bela J. Nuss, an American tourist, at a restaurant in New Delhi while scouting areas of the city known to be frequented by U.S. citizens and other Westerners. As in the case of Daniel Pearl, Saeed carefully selected Nuss, used lies to befriend him, and lured him to an isolated place where he was kidnapped at gunpoint. Also like the case of Daniel Pearl, Nuss was held in brutal isolation and photographed with a gun pointed at his head while Saeed and his co-conspirators communicated their demands to the media.
At the time of the 1994 kidnapping, the indictment states that Saeed was a member of the Harakat ul-Ansar, which was implicated in several terrorist acts against United States citizens in India during the 1990s. The indictment charges Saeed with hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking.
The United States has worked in cooperation with Pakistani and other authorities to build the case for the indictment of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh announced today.
But we pursue this case, and we continue this investigation not merely to bring Daniel Pearl's killers to justice or to provide closure to Bela Nuss. We pursue this case to uphold and protect the values Daniel Pearl cherished and the freedoms he died exercising.
The men who conspired to kill Daniel Pearl and kidnap Bela Nuss did not act at random but carefully chose their targets, their methods and their words. By killing Daniel Pearl and threatening other Americans, terrorists hoped to send a message of defiance. But what survives is an unmistakable message of their fear. Stunted by their hatred, imprisoned in their lies, even terrorists understand, as we understand, that unfettered speech and open inquiry are the bedrock upon which freedom stands -- what George Mason called "the bulwark of liberty" and Thomas Jefferson included in the creed of our political faith, the text of our civil instruction, the touchstone by which we try the services of those we trust.
Where freedom is feared, men and women like Daniel Pearl will always be hunted. But where freedom is cherished, they will be forever defended. With today's indictments, we begin the process of securing justice for Daniel Pearl and Bela Nuss, solace for their families and vindication for the values they and all civilized people share. The department's investigation of this case is an ongoing one. And we will not rest until we do everything possible to complete an understanding of the entirety of individuals charging -- bringing to justice the entirety of the individuals involved.
Thank you. I'll be happy to go with questions.
Yes, sir.
Q General Ashcroft, what is the earliest that Saeed might be brought to the U.S., and how will that process work out?
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Obviously, these indictments reflect a very serious interest that we have in him. We will be working with Pakistani authorities regarding any conveyance of the individual charged to the United States.
Yes, sir.
Q General Ashcroft, could you tell us why you decided to announce these indictments now? Is this a -- for example, an effort to put more pressure on the Pakistani government to turn him over to the United States? Or -- what was your thinking in making this action public at this time?
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Well, there are a variety of things. As you know, now that we are unsealing the indictment which was originally rendered last fall, and we have not had that as an open indictment at that time because if you open an indictment and people know you're chasing them, you reduce your likelihood of apprehending them.
It's obvious we didn't apprehend him. But he is -- now clearly he understands that we are pursuing him.
We think it's important to have the charges clear and in place so that in the event, for some reason he would in any way be released by other authorities, that we would be in a position to take him. We know that in the brutal kidnapping of 1994 he was being held by authorities outside the United States. And his colleagues hijacked an airplane and occasioned his release. And we didn't have charges pending in that setting. And we feel that it's important for us to have charges pending, so in the event of a release we are in a position to demand the individual's involvement here in the justice system.
I'll just keep going down the row here. Yes, sir.
Q Sir, are you prepared for an argument of double jeopardy if he is tried and convicted and sentenced in Pakistan?
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: I don't want to discuss the legal ramifications of the case, but I think I can give you a short answer on that: yes. (Laughter.)
Q General Ashcroft, two questions. One is, are there any co- conspirators currently under -- in custody right now? And then secondly, I'm curious why in November, why he was indicted then? That was seven years after the crime.
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: We are going to continue pursuing leads to find other individuals involved in this matter. It's clear from our perspective the our indictment and the charges do not indicate that he acted alone.
Secondly, last November is a time when the U.S. attorney and the grand jury in the District of Columbia confronted the evidence and decided to issue the charges and make the indictment at that time. To comment further on that would be inappropriate except to say that the indictment was sealed at that time because we considered the individual a fugitive and thought that not sealing it might signal our interest in his apprehension.
Yes, sir.
Q Attorney general, the Pakistanis are trying to build a case against Sheikh now. Do we have any assurances from the Pakistanis that if they cannot build a case or if they can't convict him, that they will turn him over to U.S. custody?
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: We are collaborating with the Pakistanis and informing them of our interest, and we expect them to be cooperative.
To say further at this time would be inappropriate.
Yes, sir?
Q Do you accept, then, that he goes on trial in Pakistan and then is sent to the United States? Would that be acceptable to you?
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: I don't want to try and get into a wide range of hypotheticals. Obviously they have him in custody now, and we don't. We are signalling our clear interest in trying him on these charges and bringing him to justice in the United States.
Yes, sir?
Q There's another gentleman, Adnan Khan, who's reportedly in custody in Pakistan today, who is claiming responsibility for killing Danny while on board a boat in the Arabian Sea. Have you heard these reports? Is there any validity to them?
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: I'm not able to comment on those at this time.
Yes, ma'am?
Q Your indictment charges Omar Saeed Sheikh with conspiracy to take Danny Pearl hostage. In your announcement, you said that he was charged with murder. I'm curious if you're planning to issue a superseding indictment that would include murder charges and if you just misspoke, or if you think actually is responsible for the murder of Daniel Pearl.
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: I don't -- do you want to comment on that?
(Off-mike conferral among participants.)
MR. CHERTOFF: I can -- (off mike).
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Go ahead.
MR. CHERTOFF: The charge is taking -- conspiracy and substantive taking of a hostage, with death resulting, which is really what amounts to murder. You do certain voluntary acts, and the person dies as a result.
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Well said, Michael.
Yes, sir?
Q Can you elaborate a little bit on the timing of his death? You had indicated that on the 30th of January you believed he was murdered, before the demands were sent. And also, you suggested that the videotape of his -- the mutilation of his body -- does that -- does it mean that the videotape was filmed after he was already dead and they were just --
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: I think, in the first instance, regarding your question, we believe that he had been murdered in advance of that last communication you mentioned. And I think our statement speaks for itself. To state further I would not -- (inaudible).
It sounds as if there is sufficient evidence to tie him to the conspiracy to abduct Pearl, even if he wasn't there when Pearl was murdered.
I would still think Pakistan would want to try him there rather than to turn him over to us. But in order for us to be satisfied with that, Omar needs to be executed. Yet, Pakistani police say they don't have enough evidence to win the case.
I still don't understand why our FBI is unwilling to testify against Omar in Pakistan. That seems to be the key information linking Omar to the conspiracy. It was the FBI who did the email traces, and that seems critical to me.
There is something going on behind the scenes, and I don't even have a theory for it.
In the actual fact, FDLE did its job better than usual, perhaps because the eyes of Europe were upon them, and quickly picked up and tried the suspects. It would have been quite impossible to do any better trial in England than was done in Florida, and in fact the penalties are usually higher in Florida than in England. The two black males who tried to rob them, and murdered the male, were sentenced to life as I recall.
As I have been saying for a month and a half now, since before the video that showed Pearl was murdered was turned in, about 20 leaders of Omar's organization will hang, promptly, and about 200 will receive substantial jail sentences.
Then the US, rather than ask to extradite his body, will pronounce itself "satisfied."
When one challenges the authority of a dictator (Musharraf seized power), you should expect to die. Nevermind what the defense lawyers are saying. They're all the same wherever you find them and regrdless of whether they are wearing a towel or a suit. And note that this report is trumpeted in the Euroweenie press.
Omar (and others) will be convicted and will be executed within 48 hours. (That law provides for no appeal.)
The raw political truth is that Musharraf is in a world of hurt if Omar continues to live. So would Bush be, if this scum were brought to the US. And both Pakistan and the US know that the Moussad will "take care of business" if they don't.
This is the real world truth. Don't gett hung up on fantasies by defense lawyers and Euroweenie reporters.
Congressman Billybob
And I've probably seen it all five times, Congressman Billybob. But I still don't agree. If Musharraf was concerned about "being in a world of hurt" why didn't he start closing down the terrorist shopping centers a while ago? Why didn't he bring Omar in for questions after the U.S. first requested his extradition before Daniel Pearl was kidnapped? Why is he saying that Daniel Pearl "got too involved" in the terrorist/ISI world? Why is he still saying that Daniel Pearl was working for the Indian government? Why is he denying that the ISI is involved with Al Quaida or that Omar was working for the ISI? Why did the Pak police say they caught Omar when he actually turned himself in to an old pal from the ISI? Why has Musharraf been going after the Pakistani press if they report any of this?
Ashcroft obviously wants to make it clear to Musharraf that letting Omar go will not be accepted by the U.S.
So until the Pearl kidnapping/murder, Musharraf had real political reasons for turning a blind eye toward Omar and his group. All of that changed after Musharraf decided to ally with the winning side in the Afghan war, and Omar decided to attack the US in support of Al-Qeada.
Musharraf is fully capable of seeing to it that enemies of his regime are tried, convicted, and executed. Omar and his group have just become enemies of Musharraf.
A friend of mine who is an expert on Pakistan told me and the Executive Editor of UPI at lunch at the Washington Press Club (BEFORE the Pearl execution tape was delivered) who was behind the kidnapping -- both the man and the organization -- and that the executions would be in the range of about 20 if Pearl was killed.
He was right about the man and the organization. I believe he will be right about the executions.
In the midst of war, alliances change. Musharraf picked the winning side in the war; that will be beneficial for Pakistan. Omar chose the losing side; that will be fatal for him and his organization.
It is in the interests of both Pakistan and the US that Omar be hanged at the end of a Pakistani rope. I expect that to happen, based on solid information about the Pakistani anti=terrorism law, and its use in cases prior to this one.
Every step in this matter is so far falling into place exactly as it was described at that lunch table, if Pearl was killed rather than released. It seems like Omar and his thugs had already killed Pearl, so there was no chance of their seeing the light, backing down, releasing Pearl, and saving their own lives. They are dead men walking.
Billybob
That is precisely the point, and that's why those wringing their hands endlessly everyday need to relax and watch this unfold.
At this point, it hardly would matter if Omar were innocent of this crime. He's surely guilty of others, and both Musharraf and Bush will benefit from Omar swinging from the gallows. He's toast.
". . . both Musharraf and Bush will benefit from Omar swinging from the gallows."--Dog Gone
Afraid this is wishful thinking going on here. Omar certainly deserves the rope--but he will never feel his body-weight snapping his neck in Pakistan.
On multitudes of previous posts many specific points have been made that clearly predict the outcome of an Omar non-trial in Pakistan--points totally ignored by those sanguine posters who feel that Omar will receive "justice" in Islamabad.
For starters, the opimistic posters ignore a key over-riding fact--the full name of Musharraf's little baliwick is The Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is an Islamic world swarming with a Muslim population that eagerly displays its hatred of the West--and of America in particular.
The Pakistani legal system is a chaotic conglomerate of civil and religious law--with the Islamic Shariat(Koran) clerical judges having a powerful influence on cases involving Muslim law. As previously posted in specific detail on other threads, the Koran forbids the execution of a Muslim for the killing of kaffirs (non-Muslim infidels).
The masses in the street of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are already buzzing with anger and outrage at Mushareff's government delivering aid and comfort to the hated Great Satan--his helping America to destroy the cherished religious organization of the Afghani Taliban.
Musharraf and his InterService Intelligence Directorate (ISI) were, in fact, deeply involved in the establishing of that very Islam-driven, mullah-packed organization in Afghanistan. Now, in the outraged eyes of the Pakistani Muslims, Musharraf apparently has done the obscene and the unthinkable--helped America to blow away those sacred mullahs--either to meet their 72 virgins or to flee terrified into the caves of Eastern Afghanistan.
Omar Saeed, the confessed terrorist perp, has been working hand-in-glove with Al Qaeda and the ISI going back to before his prison days in India. He is an Islamic hero-figure--especially now as the spotlight focuses on him because he masterminded the ritual Muslim killing of an American Jewish journalist--a full-blown Allah-inspired trifecta of Muslim glory.
Omar Saeed himself was kept under comforable wraps when he "turned himself in" to an ISI Commander--who sequestered Omar in luxury for a week while they obviously planned the strategy for the coming confrontation with the Pakistan legal system--and the World Press.
Omar Saeed, to this very moment, is arrogantly shouting anti-American slogans thru his head-wrap and promising the destruction of America to all within earshot as he moves back and forth from van to courtroom. . Seems like Musharref doesn't mind the locals hearing these shouted anti-American sentiments--otherwise duct tape would definitly be in place beneath the white cloth headwrapping.
To expect Pervez Mushareff--the Islamic dictator of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and one of the founding fathers of The Taliban in Afghanistan to put his throne of power in jeopardy for the hated Western forces is naive at best--and at worst supports the obvious deception that Mushareff is somehow our bosom "ally" in the fight against the Islamic warriors--jihaders--held up as sainted fighters in the Islamic eyes of the Pakistani populace.
Omar Saeed will never hang--or be punished in any way--in that hotbed of seething anti-American feeling. The confessed terrorist killer must be plucked from Mushareff's Muslim Republic. Omar Saeed must be brought to America to stand trial in a United States Court or Tribunal--and then drop through an American trapdoor into eternal darkness.
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