Omar’s trial in jail challenged
KARACHI- The Sindh government’s notification for holding Daniel Pearl murder case trial in Karachi Central Prison has been challenged in the Sindh High Court.
Abdul Waheed Katpar, counsel for prime suspect Omar Shaikh, filed on Saturday an application on behalf of his client and three other co-accused, praying for setting aside the impugned notification and for conducting trial of the case in an open court, to promote the ends of justice.
It is his contention that no reason has been assigned in the impugned notification as to why there should be jail trial.
The Advocate-General Sindh, Raja Qureshi, told newsmen on Friday that the government had decided that the trial should be held inside the prison “because of security reasons.”
The AG had stated that though the Anti-terrorism Act contemplated the conduct of in-camera trial, it was up to the provincial government to take a position in this regard.
It has been contended in the application that the proposed jail trial is in direct violation of section 352 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), as under all kinds of criminal inquiries trials are to be held in an open court, where the press and the public have the right to be present and to watch the proceedings.
Simply because an American journalist is alleged to have been killed does not necessarily mean that 11 innocent persons be sacrificed, at the altar of suspicion, the counsel has contended in the application.
Source: Dawn
Date:3/31/2002
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