Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British Islamist who confessed...

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the British Islamist who confessed to masterminding the kidnapping of American reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan was charged with his murder and faces execution if convicted.
Omar, from Wanstead, east London appeared before an anti-terrorism court in Karachi, as some 100 armed police surrounded the building. The chief prosecutor, Raja Quereshi, accused Mr Saeed (28) and three alleged accomplices of kidnapping, murder and terrorism. Seven other suspects were indicted in absentia. The court was scheduled to convene again on March 29.
Omar is accused of masterminding the Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau chief Daniel Pearl's abduction on January 23 in Karachi and his subsequent murder. Following his arrest in February Omar confessed to Pearl's murder but later recanted.
Legal experts said the filing of charges would make it more difficult for Pakistan to hand Omar over to the United States for prosecution, as President Bush's administration wants.
"If no charges had been filed, a court could have readily handed him over," Akram Sheikh, former head of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said. Now, "he can not be flown abroad until his trial is complete in Pakistan," the lawyer added.