[JURIST] British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh [Wikipedia profile], who was sentenced to death [JURIST report] in July 2002 for kidnapping and murdering Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl [DPF profile; JURIST news archive], will use a Guantanamo Bay detainee's confession to support his appeal, his lawyer said Monday. Omar's lawyer said he plans to substantiate his client's appeal by introducing the military status hearing transcript [text, PDF] released last week in which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed [BBC profile] confessed [JURIST report] that he personally "decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl" during a hearing at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The claim is so far unsubstantiated.

Three of Omar's co-conspirators were also sentenced to life in prison in Pakistan in connection with Pearl's kidnapping and murder in 2002. Reuters has more.