Mariane Pearl drops lawsuit against al Qaeda in NY
(Adds comment from Pearl's rep, details)
By Christine Kearney
NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl has dropped a lawsuit against al Qaeda, other groups and a Pakistani bank over her husband's kidnap, torture and murder, court records show.
Lawyers acting for Mariane Pearl filed the lawsuit in July. It sought unspecified damages against "those terrorists, terrorist organizations and the supporting charitable and banking organizations for the senseless kidnapping, torture and murder of Daniel Pearl."
A notice of voluntary dismissal was filed late on Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan that stated Pearl had decided not to pursue the case.
"The withdrawal was done for personal reasons that had nothing to do with the merits of the lawsuit," a spokesperson for Pearl's lawyers Motley Rice said.
Daniel Pearl was the Journal's South Asia bureau chief when he was kidnapped in Karachi in January 2002 while seeking an interview with suspected Islamist militants. After several days in captivity he was beheaded on video.
Among those sued was Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was convicted and sentenced to death in a Pakistan court for his role in the murder. Three others were jailed for life.
Another defendant, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, an alleged masterminded of the Sept. 11 attacks, told a U.S. military tribunal in March that he beheaded Pearl, the military said. Following that, Mariane Pearl said the way to fight terrorism was self-control over feelings of "disgust and horror."
Pearl also sued Habib Bank Limited, one of Pakistan's biggest banks, accusing it of knowingly conducting financial transactions for charities linked to extremist groups. The bank denied this, saying it had never supported terrorism.
A spokesperson for Pearl said she was traveling and could not be reached.
Mariane Pearl's story was the subject this year of the film "A Mighty Heart," which starred Angelina Jolie and recounted the events leading up to and following Daniel's death when Mariane was around six months pregnant.
