Suspects charged in Pearl killing

Suspect Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh

KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh has been formally charged in Pakistan, along with three other suspects, with the kidnap and murder of U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl.

Guarded by around 300 police, accused mastermind Saeed was charged with the murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter on Friday in a provincial court in the southern part of Pakistan.

Pearl was kidnapped in the port city of Karachi on January 23, while trying to probe possible links between alleged shoe-bomber Richard Reid and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Although his body has never been found, his kidnappers released a graphic video showing Pearl being murdered. After seeing the videotape, the U.S. State Department confirmed on February 21 that 38-year-old Pearl was killed.

The family of Daniel Pearl has established a charity "to support the causes to which he dedicated his life." Donations can be sent to: Daniel Pearl Family Foundation c/o The Wall Street Journal P.O. Box 300 Princeton, N.J. 08543 U.S.A.  CNN NewsPass Video    •  Four found guilty in Pearl killing   MORE STORIES   •  Pearl family welcomes verdict   •  UK urges leniency for Pearl killer   •  Tom Mintier: Backlash a fear in Pearl verdicts   •  TIME.com: A casualty of the war on terror  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  Messages of sorrow, shock after Pearl's killing  RESOURCES   •  Obituary: Daniel Pearl   •  Timeline: Key dates in the Pearl kidnapping   •  Gallery: The life of Daniel Pearl

The kidnap case is seen as key in seeing how far Pakistan will go in cracking down on suspected Muslim hardliners.

Saeed has also been indicted by a U.S. court on one count of hostage-taking and one of conspiring to take hostages resulting in the death of Pearl.

But Pakistan's government has said it would only consider extraditing him once its own trial is complete.

'Defend himself'

Saeed was also charged in the Sindh High Court with kidnapping for ransom, and acts of terrorism.

Taken into custody on February 5, Saeed has said he will defend himself during his trial, which is set to open on March 29. If convicted he could face the death penalty.

According to the prosecution, the charges were based on both videotape evidence as well as the testimony of a cab driver who told authorities he saw Pearl get into a car with Saeed on the day he disappeared.

Saeed is one of 11 suspects on the prosecution's charge sheet in Pearl's kidnapping and death.

Only four of the suspects are in custody -- Salman Saquib, Saquib's brother, Fahad Naseem, and Sheikh Adil, and they were also charged on Friday.

In filing the charges, the prosecution listed more than 30 witnesses it intends to call, including a number of FBI agents.

Saeed has admitted in court that he orchestrated the plot against Pearl. Because his statement was not made under oath, it is not clear whether it can be used as evidence or not.

Born in 1974, Saeed is the son of a wholesale clothes merchant from Wanstead in northeast London. He went to an expensive school but dropped out of one of Britain's top universities, the London School of Economics.

Saeed has also been charged with involvement in the abduction of an American tourist in India in 1994.