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"American
Taliban" Appears in Court, Father Proclaims Son’s Innocence
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| Walkers
parents proclaimed their son is innocent |
By
S.M. Khalid, IOL Washington correspondent
ALEXANDRIA,
Virginia, Jan. 25 (IslamOnline) - John Walker Lindh appeared briefly Thursday
before a packed federal court to answer four charges that he aided Afghanistan's
Taliban and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network in their fight against U.S.
military forces.
When
asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge, W. Curtis Sewell, if he understood the charges
and the penalties, Lindh, who was dressed in a green prison jumpsuit, answered,
"Yes, I do. Thank You." He was not required to enter a plea in today's
15-minute proceedings.
Lindh
is being charged with attempting to kill Americans overseas, providing
assistance to (allegedly) terrorist organizations, including both the Taliban
and Al-Qaeda, and engaging in prohibited transactions with terrorist
organizations.
The
20-year-old Lindh, appearing with his head and beard shaved, was escorted out of
the courtroom under heavy guard and was returned to a federal detention facility
down the street from the courthouse.
It
is the same jail where alleged Al-Qaeda member Zaccarias Moussaui is being held
while he awaits his own trial in connection with the deadly September 11 attacks
on New York and Washington.
Lindh
will remain in custody and undergo an examination before the court rules on
whether he will remain there or will be released pending trial. A preliminary
hearing has been scheduled for February 6.
Lindh's
parents, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker, who met with their son for 20 minutes
before the hearing, spoke briefly to reporters outside the court after the
proceedings.
"John
loves America," Frank Lindh told reporters. "We love America. John did
not take up arms against America. He did not harm Americans. John is
innocent."
A
high-powered four-member legal team, headed by prominent San Francisco area
attorney James Brosnahan, a former special prosecutor, is representing Lindh.
Brosnahan
appeared to outline his client's legal defense when he claimed that Lindh's
requests for an attorney had been denied following his capture in Afghanistan on
Dec. 1, 2001.
Lindh
allegedly told his interrogators that he voluntarily joined the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
in their fight against the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan. He was
wounded in a prison uprising by Taliban prisoners in December in which CIA agent
Johnny "Mike" Spann was killed.
"I
am saying this," said Brosnahan. "From December 2nd, John Walker Lindh
asked for a lawyer, repeatedly, he asked for lawyers. The officials who
commented on this case know this."
If
the court rules that Lindh was unfairly denied legal representation, some or all
of the incriminating statements he apparently made to his interrogators could be
suppressed at the trial. Such a ruling would make it extremely difficult for
federal prosecutors to prove their case against him.
U.S.
Attorney Paul McNulty, who is leading the government prosecution, told reporters
that Lindh signed a statement waiving his legal rights in mid-December, when
agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Afghanistan were
interrogating him.
"[Lindh]
is being provided, as all defendants who appear before a federal court, with the
full panoply of rights, including the right to counsel," said McNulty.
"He has very competent counsel and we will work through these issues in due
course."
McNulty
repeated that the federal investigation of Lindh was continuing and that further
charges against him could be filed. A grand jury is expected to formally charge
Lindh in about a month.
Lindh
converted to Islam four years ago. Two years ago, he traveled to Yemen to study
Arabic before eventually continuing on to Pakistan and then Afghanistan.
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