Daniel Pearl
Daniel PearlReuters

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that four men convicted of kidnapping and murdering Jewish-American journalist Daniel Pearl should go free, CNN reported.

Pearl was working as the South Asia bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal in 2002 when he was kidnapped in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

The kidnappers later filmed Pearl's beheading and sent it to United States officials. It was among the first propaganda videos targeting hostages created by extremists, and helped to inspire other terror groups to film horrific and egregious acts of violence.

Four men were arrested in 2002, and convicted of the kidnap and murder of Pearl. One, British national Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, was given the death penalty.

Sheikh was acquitted last year of murdering Pearl but had been held while Pearl’s family appealed.

In April last year, a high court in Sindh province, where Karachi is located, overturned the convictions of three of the four men and reduced Sheikh's sentence to seven years in prison, meaning he was eligible for release on time served.

In December, the court overturned a government detention order that Sheikh should remain in custody.

The White House responded to Thursday’s ruling by saying the US is "outraged" by the decision, which was called by press secretary Jen Psaki an "affront to terrorism victims everywhere, including in Pakistan."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted, “I am deeply concerned by the Pakistani Supreme Court’s decision to acquit those involved in Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder. We are committed to securing justice for the Pearl family and holding terrorists accountable.”