Algemeiner Editor-in-Chief Dovid Efune appears on i24 News. Photo: Screenshot.

A Pakistani court decision to release the man convicted of masterminding the killing of US journalist Daniel Pearl is a “slap in the face” to the American people, and presents an early test for the Biden Administration’s commitment to fighting antisemitism,  Algemeiner editor-in-chief Dovid Efune said Wednesday during an interview with i24 News. 

“You’re talking about somebody in Daniel Pearl who is today an American icon, a journalistic icon, a Jewish icon,” said Efune. “And the freeing of his killers is a slap in the face, a real desecration of those three ideals.”

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s high court ordered the release from prison of Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was convicted in 2002 for the kidnapping and murder of the Jewish journalist.

“This is a real test for the US administration,” he continued. “How seriously they are going to take this matter will tell us how serious they are in general about pursuing human rights around the world, about press freedom, and certainly about fighting antisemitism and prejudice against the Jewish community.”

On Tuesday, the high court recommended Sheikh be moved to a government safe house as a stepping stone to his full release. A Jan. 28 ruling upheld a previous acquittal for Sheikh and three fellow perpetrators — which both the US and Pakistani governments strongly condemned.

“The Pearl family, and certainly the the United States government, and free and fair observers around the world aren’t buying any of this,” said Efune. “This is a cold-blooded killer who deserves to be behind bars until the end of his days.”

Watch Efune’s i24 News appearance below: