Shopkeeper Testifies In Pearl Trial

A shopkeeper testified Wednesday that he sold a Polaroid camera to two of the four Islamic militants charged with the kidnapping and slaying of Daniel Pearl, a camera the prosecution charged was used to take pictures of the Wall Street Journal reporter in captivity.

Two other prosecution witnesses testified about mobile phone calls and e-mails sent by the suspects, lawyers said after the closed session in a special anti-terrorism court.

Reporters are barred from the courtroom in Hyderabad's Central Jail, which is ringed by sharpshooters and armored vehicles. Lawyers are allowed to brief journalists outside.

On Wednesday, a witness identified by lawyers as Arif produced a dated receipt for a Polaroid camera. Chief prosecutor Raja Quereshi said Arif identified two of the suspects, Fahad Naseem and his cousin Salman Saqib, as the people who purchased the camera — the same one used to take photos of Pearl.

In February, Naseem's lawyer quoted his client as saying in a deposition that he and Saqib met suspected mastermind Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh at a house in Karachi on Jan. 21 — two days before Pearl's disappearance.

At the house, Naseem said Saeed gave him money to purchase the camera and that he was later given a scanner to send e-mails, lawyer Khawaja Naveed Ahmed said at the time. According to the lawyer, Naseem said Saeed told him there were plans to kidnap someone who is "anti-Islam and a Jew."

Defense attorney Rai Bashir told reporters there were "a lot of discrepancies" in Arif's receipt book, which had no store logo or other identification. He said the receipt for the camera was the only one in the book to include the names of the customers, and it did not include the camera's serial number.

Another witness Wednesday was identified as Col. Usman, the manager of the Mobilink cellphone company. Quereshi said Usman came to court with printouts specifying the day, time and duration of calls made by the suspects. He did not elaborate.

A third witness confirmed that e-mails were sent through his Internet service and that Naseem was the subscriber, Quereshi said.

A few days after Pearl's disappearance, e-mails sent by the previously unknown National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty announced his kidnapping and showed pictures of him in captivity.

U.S. investigators traced the e-mails to Naseem, who in turn identified the British-born Saeed as the mastermind, police said. Saqib and a former policeman, Sheikh Mohammed Adeel, are also standing trial.

All four defendants have pleaded innocent to charges of kidnapping, murder and terrorism. If convicted, they could be sentenced to death.

Bashir said all four defendants and their lawyers met for two hours to prepare for Thursday's scheduled cross-examination of an FBI expert, identified as Ronald Joseph, who lawyers said testified that he had traced the e-mails and examined the laptop from which they were sent.

Bashir said he also asked for a copy of the three-minute videotape sent by the kidnappers to confirm Pearl's death. Defense attorneys have challenged the authenticity of the video, which was shown at the trial Tuesday, and Bashir said he wanted his own experts to examine it.

Quereshi said the judge approved his request to summon the former presiding judge on the case, Arshad Noor Khan, as a witness, pending permission from the Sindh Province High Court.

Khan was replaced by Judge Abdul Ghafoor Memon on April 30 because Khan was present at a Feb. 14 hearing where Saeed admitted his role in the kidnapping. Saeed later recanted, but his lawyers argued that allowing Khan to preside would be prejudicial to the defense.

Quereshi said he wants Khan to testify because the chief suspect admitted "in his court that he had kidnapped Daniel Pearl."

Then he quoted Saeed as having said, "I don't want to defend myself and I know that I will be extradited" to the United States. Quereshi said he wanted to prove the statement.

Pearl, 38, disappeared in Karachi while investigating a story linking Pakistani Islamic militants to Richard C. Reid, who is accused of trying to blow up a Paris to Miami flight last December with explosives in his shoes.

Also Wednesday, the judge threw out a blasphemy charge made by defense lawyers against Quereshi, amid fears it could provoke violence.

"It was only made to intimidate the prosecution," said Quereshi, who had denied the charge. Vigilante Islamic militants in Pakistan have attacked and killed people accused of blasphemy before.

Fears of a terrorist attack have haunted the trial since it began April 22. It was moved two weeks ago from Karachi to Hyderabad at Quereshi's request.

Karachi has been plagued by sectarian violence blamed on Islamic militants, many of whom are also angered by Pakistan's support for the U.S.-led war on terror in neighboring Afghanistan.