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American who fought for Taliban freed early from US prison American who fought for Taliban freed early from US prison
(about 5 hours later)
John Walker Lindh, the American captured in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, was released early from federal prison on Thursday morning, according to the Washington Post, which cited his lawyer. John Walker Lindh, the American captured in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, has been released early from federal prison, instantly drawing the fury of senior US government officials who say he may still pose a security risk.
Lindh was released despite concerns expressed by some US politicians that he may still pose a security risk. Filmed by a CNN news crew in northern Afghanistan during his battlefield capture shortly after the 9/11 attacks, the footage of the prisoner who would become known as the “American Taliban” captivated the US.
Photographed as a bearded 20-year-old when captured in Afghanistan, the 38-year-old left a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, on probation on Thursday after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence. Lindh, now 38, was released from federal prison in Terre Haute,Indiana, on probation on Thursday, after serving 17 years of a 20 year sentence for pleading guilty to fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Lindh is among dozens of prisoners due to be released over the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan by US forces and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the 11 September 2001 attacks. His sentence reflected a plea deal that saw some of the more serious charges against him dropped amid allegations he was mistreated in custody. Lindh was present when a group of Taliban prisoners launched an attack outside the city of Mazar-e Sharif, leading to the death of CIA agent Johnny Spann.
A BOP spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian that Lindh had been released early due to “good conduct” but would not elaborate on the conditions of his parole.
Reports have indicated Lindh will be subject to a number of strict conditions during his three-year probation. He will be banned from possessing any “internet capable device” without permission and will be subject to constant monitoring. He will not be allowed to communicate in any language other than English and will be prevented from viewing any “material that reflects extremist or terroristic views”.
Lindh’s lawyer, Bill Cummings, declined a request for comment from the Guardian.
America's 'detainee 001' – the persecution of John Walker LindhAmerica's 'detainee 001' – the persecution of John Walker Lindh
His release brought objections from elected officials who asked why Lindh was being freed early and what training parole officers had to spot radicalisation and recidivism among former jihadists. John Walker Lindh was 20 years old when he travelled to Afghanistan to join the Taliban. Born in California to an affluent San Francisco family, he converted to Islam as a teenager after watching the film Malcolm X. He journeyed to Yemen to learn Arabic and later admitted to meeting Osama bin Laden on at least one occasion.
Leaked US government documents published by Foreign Policy magazine show the federal government described Lindh as holding extremist views as recently as 2016. Lindh’s early release drew the fury of senior government officials. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo described it as “unexplainable and unconscionable”. A bipartisan group of US senators wrote to the federal bureau of prisons [BOP] demanding to know how Lindh had qualified for early release.
“What is the current interagency policy, strategy and process for ensuring that terrorist/extremist offenders successfully reintegrate into society?” asked the US senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan in a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. “Our highest priority is keeping America safe, secure, and free,” the senators wrote. “To that end, we must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh…”
Lindh’s parents, Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lindh’s lawyer, Bill Cummings, declined to comment. Lindh claimed at trial he had not supported violence against America: “I never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism or terrorism,” he told a Virginia court during his sentencing. But there are multiple indications he has not renounced extremism during his incarceration.
Born in the US, Lindh converted from Catholicism to Islam as a teenager. At his 2002 sentencing he said he travelled to Yemen to learn Arabic and then to Pakistan to study Islam. He said he volunteered as a Taliban soldier to help fellow Muslims in their struggle, or “jihad”. He said he had no intention “to fight against America” and never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism. According to a 2016 intelligence report, leaked to Foreign Policy magazine in 2017, the prisoner “continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts”. The report also claims Lindh told a TV news journalist in March 2016 “that he would continue to spread violent extremist Islam upon his release”.
Lindh told the court he condemned “terrorism on every level” and attacks by the al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden, were “completely against Islam”. Another account published on Thursday by the Atlantic, indicates Lindh has expressed support for Islamic State, and requested reading materials related to the terror group while incarcerated.
But a January 2017 report by the US government’s National Counterterroism Center, published by Foreign Policy magazine, said that as of May 2016, Lindh “continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts”. The 37-year-old’s case portends to a wider issue in the US prison system with regards to inmates convicted of terror charges. There are over 400 inmates currently held in the federal prison system with connections to international terrorism, with up to a quarter of those scheduled for release within the next five years.
NBC said Lindh wrote a letter to its Los Angeles station KNBC in 2015 expressing support for Islamic State, saying the radical Islamist group was fulfilling “a religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle”. In contrast to many European countries, the US has done little to invest in the rehabilitation of radicalized inmates.
Nonetheless, Lindh’s parents have continued to maintain their son is not a violent extremist.
Writing for the Observer in 2011, Lindh’s father, Frank Lindh, described his son as a “gentle young man”.
“John is blessed with a calm and curious nature. As a child, he was more sceptical than our other two children about such things as Santa Claus. When he was 12 years old, he saw the film Malcolm X, and was moved by its depiction of the pilgrims in Mecca. He began to explore Islam and, four years later, decided to convert,” Lindh wrote of his son.
“To me and to John’s mother, his conversion was a positive development and certainly not a source of worry.”
Frank Lindh did not respond to multiple request for comment on Thursday.
John Walker LindhJohn Walker Lindh
TalibanTaliban
September 11 2001September 11 2001
AfghanistanAfghanistan
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