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CNN Live At Daybreak
Extradition of Omar Saeed Sheikh to U.S. May or May Not Happen
Aired March 15, 2002 - 05:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Will Pakistan try the chief suspect in the Daniel Pearl case or hand him over to the United States? A Pakistani official says investigations would have to be completed before any decision is made. That comment follows a U.S. indictment against the suspect.
CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh has been in custody in Pakistan without formal charges since last month. This indictment may be a step towards bringing him to trial in the U.S.
JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: 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.
CANDIOTTI: On January 30, the kidnappers sent a second e-mail with more photos and more demands. But by then, investigators say, Pearl was already dead.
ASHCROFT: Before that message was sent, the indictment charges, the conspirators had already brutally killed Daniel Pearl and videotaped the mutilation of his body.
CANDIOTTI: A New Jersey grand jury returned a two-count indictment -- conspiracy to commit hostage taking resulting in Pearl's death and carrying out the kidnapping. The indictment says Saeed set up a phony meeting between Pearl and someone he was trying to interview. When Pearl showed up at this restaurant, he was snatched.
Saeed is also accused of training and fighting with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda forces just before and after the September 11 attacks. Charges were also unsealed linking Saeed to another case, the 1994 kidnapping in India of four Western tourists, including an American.
Extraditing Saeed may be tricky. The Pakistanis want to try him first. According to one former diplomat, Saeed's indictment could make extraditing him easier.
KARL INDERFURTH, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Oh, I think actually this helps Musharraf because it shows that the legal steps are now being taken in a formal sense to bring Saeed back to this country.
CANDIOTTI: The attorney general met with Pearl's widow, Mariane, before announcing the indictment.
ASHCROFT: 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.
CANDIOTTI: Daniel Pearl's body and murder weapon have not been found.
(on camera): in court this week in Pakistan, Saeed threatened retribution if he was extradited to the U.S., a chance U.S. authorities up here are perfectly willing to take.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: So what exactly is happening in the investigation in Pakistan, from Pakistan's perspective.
Ash-Har Quraishi joins us by video phone from Islamabad this morning -- good morning.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, today we're hearing from officials the same thing that we've been hearing for weeks now. They're saying that there's been no change in response to the indictment that we've seen the U.S. hand down. They're saying that they will continue to investigate, that this investigation is ongoing, that Ahmed Omar Saeed will remain in Pakistan.
They're saying that until that investigation is complete and a trial possibly against him completed here in Pakistan, extradition will not be discussed. They're saying that it's still a possibility but it's not something they're discussing right now.
Now, earlier this week we were expecting files to be formally charged against Saeed in a Karachi court. Prosecutors were expected to file those charges. But they say that they needed a little bit more time to gather evidence and this was the third time that they asked for a remand from the judge here in Karachi, saying that they wanted a little bit more time.
Now, this latest remand lasting 10 days. It's expected to expire March 22, when they are expected to file those charges -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ash-Har, does it mean anything as far as Pakistan is concerned that the United States has indicted Saeed Sheikh?
QURAISHI: From what we understand, no. We're seeing this as sort of a precautionary measure. The government feels that the United States does have confidence in the court system here in Pakistan but that they do want to be prepared if, in fact, the evidence is not, they don't have enough evidence here in Pakistan to charge him, that the U.S. is ready to pick up that investigation, pick up some sort of an agreement with the Pakistani government to extradite him to the United States -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Ash-Har Quraishi joining us live border video phone from Islamabad this morning, thank you.
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