KARACHI, Pakistan -- A court in Pakistan on Friday set a trial date for four men accused in the kidnap-slaying of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl -- a case widely seen as a test of Pakistan's commitment to combat religious extremism.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the alleged mastermind of the Jan. 23 kidnapping, and three accomplices will face trial April 5 before an anti-terrorism court on charges of murder, kidnapping and terrorism, chief prosecutor Raja Quereshi said. The trial will be held at a jail for security reasons.

Saeed appealed that his case be heard before a religious court based on Islamic law, but the Judge Shabir Ahmad refused. Islamic courts in Pakistan do not deal with murder cases, focusing instead on adultery or civil disputes.

Family and friends of the defendants gathered outside the judges chambers, and some shouted Quranic verses that the men should read for encouragement. Saeed tried to scream a message to the crowd after leaving the courthouse, but police pushed him into an armored personnel carrier and whisked him back to jail.

Tight security

Security for the brief hearing had been extremely tight, with police ringing the colonial-era courthouse amid concerns that Saeed's accomplices might try to free him.

A second defendant, Sheikh Mohammed Adeel, also appeared at the courthouse Friday. Two others in custody did not attend the hearing. A total of 11 people have been accused in the case.

A senior investigator, Manzoor Mughal, told reporters that fresh evidence had emerged linking Saeed to the crime, including proof that Pearl and Omar had held a meeting in a hotel in Rawalpindi. The meeting is important because it suggests that Saeed planned the kidnapping well in advance.