The Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act requires the United States Department of State to expand its scrutiny of news media intimidation and freedom of the press restrictions during its annual report on human rights in each country. Signed into law by President Obama on May 17, 2010, the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act is named in honor of former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan, just four months after the September 11 attacks. The act amends the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act to include provisions to spotlight governments that seek to silence any media opposition by calling upon the Secretary of State to greatly expand the examination of the status of freedom of the press worldwide in the State Department's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. As such, the legislation requires that the State Department identify countries in which there were violations of press freedom, determine whether the government authorities of those countries participate in, facilitate, or condone the violations, and report such actions to preserve the safety and independence of the media and ensure the prosecution of individuals who attack journalists. Background On January 23, 2002, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was abducted after being lured from his apartment in Karachi, Pakistan following a tip from a source regarding his research on a story about possible ties between accused "shoe bomber" Richard Reid and Pakistani militants. He was on his way to what he believed was an interview with the head of the fundamentalist Islamic Jamaat ul-Fuqra group, Sheikh Mubarik ali Gilani. His abductors accused him of espionage and had initially demanded the release of Pakistani detainees at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, threatening to kill the reporter if their demands were not met. On May 16, Daniel Pearl's body was discovered in Gadap, Pakistan buried in a shallow grave in several pieces next to his severed head. Although, a Pakistani court sentenced to death Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh, and initially imprisoned three others for their roles in the abduction and murder of the reporter, the murder is still unresolved. In March 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the suspected 9/11 masterminds, confessed to the beheading of Daniel Pearl. Despite this confession, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is yet to see a trial and will remain behind bars without trial indefinitely due to disagreements