Pearl case man 'not a kidnap mastermind'

British Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh did not mastermind the kidnap and killing of Daniel Pearl, his brother Awais claimed today.

Sheikh, who grew up in east London and went to the London School of Economics, is appealing against his conviction in Pakistan.

He has been sentenced to death for his part in the murder of the 38-year-old US journalist, killed investigating the al-Qaida network.

However, Sheikh claims American pressure on the Pakistani authorities led to him being made a scapegoat.

His brother Awais said neither the discovery of Pearl’s body nor the arrest of four other alleged militants in connection with the murder were revealed during the original trial.

“A decision was made to keep the details of the body and the suspects secret because it was felt that they would negatively influence the trial,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme.

“Now, the suspects are widely believed to have done the actual killing.

“It’s very surprising they were not brought forward during the trial.

“This is something that could raise grounds for a re-trial, rather than an appeal.”

There were “several other points” that indicated the trial was not fair.

Other suspects complained that confessions were beaten out of them by police, he said.

“One of the co-accused complained via his lawyer that the police had been beating him quite brutally for hours trying to make him sign a confession that pinpointed Omar Sheikh as the mastermind behind the kidnapping and he refused,” he continued.

“The police then threatened to bring his mother and sister to the police station and gang-rape them, at which point he signed the confession.”

Mr Sheikh said his brother had complained in court of being forced to sign blank statements and brutal interrogations.

And it was untrue that Omar Sheikh had made a confession, he continued.

“There were statements made during the hearing but those statements were not made under oath,” he said.

“One of the main aspects of this trial which we are complaining about is that it was held behind closed doors.

“So anything that was said in the trial is reported second-hand to the press.”

Mr Sheikh said his brother had been acquitted of involvement in a previous kidnapping and questioned suggestions that the victims’ had identified him.

“I think a lot of this is due to a snowball affect. One person says one thing, another person says another, whereas none of these allegations ever had any accompanying evidence,” he added.