Marianne Pearl Sues Pakistan Bank for Funding Husband’s Murder

By Anastacia Mott Austin

With the recent release of the movie "A Mighty Heart," people around the world are being reminded of the 2002 kidnapping and gruesome beheading of Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl.

The film depicts the experience of Pearl’s pregnant wife and colleagues as they desperately attempt to find Daniel and free him from his captors after he was abducted in Karachi, Pakistan.

His widow, Marianne Pearl, has returned to the spotlight by filing a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against 23 individuals she believes are responsible for her husband’s murder, as well as the Pakistan-based Habib Bank she thinks funded the extremist group.

The suit reads, in part, "Plaintiffs seek to hold responsible those terrorists, terrorist organizations and the supporting charitable and banking organizations for the senseless kidnapping, torture and murder of Daniel Pearl," which was intended to "emotionally destroy the Pearl family and terrorize, appall, and frighten American citizens."

The Motley Rice law firm is representing Ms. Pearl, and it has represented other individuals who have filed suits against banks and other companies since the 9/11 attacks.

Named in the suit, among others, is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured and is currently being held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay. Mohammed has boasted that he personally carried out the murder of Pearl. According to a Defense Department transcript released to the public, Mohammed claimed, "I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew, Daniel Pearl."

Also named in the suit is the Islamic charity group, the since-banned al-Rashid trust. Pearl’s suit claims that the charity was a front that funded Mohammed’s extremist group as well as al-Qaeda. The charity was banned by Pakistan recently as that country attempts to put a stop to financing for terrorism.

Pearl claims that the Habib Bank, which is the largest bank in Pakistan and has over 1500 local and international branches (including one in Manhattan), knowingly funded the al-Rashid group as well as other accounts established by known terrorist groups. According to the suit, "In doing so Habib and its subsidiaries knowingly conducted financial transactions on behalf of charities linked to extremist groups."

A senior vice president at Habib Bank, Mudassir Khan, has responded, "We haven’t done anything wrong and the allegations, as I hear them, are false and baseless."

But Marianne Pearl says she needs to proceed with the lawsuit to answer questions for herself, her son, and Daniel Pearl’s family. In a statement to the press, Ms. Pearl said, "I am looking for the truth of what happened to Daniel, for our family, our friends, and the public record. This process allows us to delve deeper into the investigation, and to bring accountability and punishment to those involved with his kidnapping, torture, and murder."