Why we are seeking justice for our son, Daniel Pearl.

Byline: Ruth Pearl and Judea Pearl

Assalam-o-Alaikum and Ramazan Mubarak.

Eighteen years ago, in 2002, we lost our son, Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and brutally murdered in Karachi, Pakistan.

We still remember the day Daniel was born, in a hospital in Princeton, New Jersey. He was an unusually easy baby, always peaceful, self-assured and self-entertained, even in discomfort and stillness.

We raised Daniel to worship truth, honesty and friendship. He was friendly to all strangers. He didn't know what a stranger was. For him, a stranger meant an opportunity to develop a new friendship based on mutual respect and trust. He grew up to be a journalist, committed to writing the truth and upholding principles of justice and humanity throughout his many journeys to the Middle East and Asia.

After the tragic events of September 11, Daniel went to Pakistan as a journalist with his wife, Mariane. There, in Islamabad, he learned he was going to have a son and chose to name his baby Adam, to symbolise the unity of mankind. But Daniel was never to see Adam.

Instead, while on professional duty as a journalist, reporting, he met a diabolical criminal named Omar Sheikh, who lured Daniel to Karachi in a complicated, cruel plot to kidnap him for ransom. With Daniel in captivity, Sheikh made all sorts of ransom demands, all under the threats of death. He wanted Pakistani prisoners freed from Guantanamo Bay. He wanted the delivery of F-16 fighter jets from the US to Pakistan.

Sheikh was helped in his criminal plot by three men - Fahad Nasim, Syed Salman Saqib and Sheikh MuAAhAammad Adil. Days after Daniel's kidnapping, our son was brutally murdeAred in cold blood - in front of a video camera that documented his death.

These four men are directly responsible for our son's murder, and they were convicted in 2002 of their role in that inhumane, barbaric act.

Over these 18 long years, we have continued to believe that truth and justice will be upheld in Pakistan. However, in April this year, the Sindh High Court overturned the convictions and sentences of the four men convicted in Daniel's murder, ruling that they should go free.

We strongly believe this decision is a travesty of justice and that it sends the wrong...