NewsMine — war-on-terror — afghanistan — John-Walker-Lindh — Viewing Item

Fair trial { June 17 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Lindh-Taliban.html http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Lindh-Taliban.html June 17, 2002 Lawyers: Lindh Can't Get Fair Trial By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 7:22 a.m. ET ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- Lawyers for John Walker Lindh, seeking dismissal of his indictment, argue that the American-born Taliban fighter cannot receive a fair trial anywhere in America -- and especially not 10 miles from the Pentagon where 189 people died Sept. 11. The fairness question was among several constitutional issues raised by Lindh's lawyers in written motions and sharply contested in government responses. Both sides were presenting oral arguments Monday before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III. Constitutional arguments are not unusual in major criminal cases, but few involve the rights of a U.S. citizen captured abroad as an enemy combatant. Originally held by the military, Lindh was transferred to civilian authorities in January and charged with conspiring to murder U.S. nationals and aiding the militant Taliban and al-Qaida. His defense team says he was a soldier fighting against the Northern Alliance faction in Afghanistan who never fought Americans, nor intended to do so. An earlier defense motion said ``a fair trial is not possible'' because government officials speculated publicly about potential punishments and called Lindh a traitor. It said the bias is acute in the Eastern District of Virginia encompassing the Pentagon, ``where the tragedy of Sept. 11th carries a special significance in the hearts and minds of residents personally touched by those horrific events.'' At a minimum, the trial should be transferred to the Northern District of California. Lindh grew up in Marin County, near San Francisco, Lindh's lawyers said. The government countered that lawyers for the 21-year-old defendant have their own publicity campaign to portray him as ``a gentle, sweet youth, as a devoted practitioner of his (Islamic) faith and a loyal American.'' Prosecutors said the defense has tried to ``separate Lindh in the public's mind from his al-Qaida associates.'' Lindh's defense vigorously denied he was part of Osama bin Laden's network, while the indictment said he personally met with the al-Qaida leader at a military training camp. The defense also contended that Lindh had ``the right to associate with unpopular and disfavored groups'' and the only service he provided to the Taliban was himself. Prosecutors called his First Amendment claims absurd. ``Lindh is not charged with joining a subversive political party, or with circulating incendiary handbills or religious material, or with exhorting an audience in a city park to oppose the government,'' the prosecutors said. ``Instead, he is charged with undergoing weeks of training from the world's most lethal and accomplished terrorist group (al-Qaida) ... and spending several months as a ... warrior for the Taliban, eventually in opposition to his own country.'' The defense team argued that the prosecution of Lindh ``violates the well-established international law principle of combat immunity.'' According to that principle, soldiers can be prosecuted for war crimes, but not for simply taking part in an armed conflict. The United States asserted the principle when North Vietnam threatened to prosecute U.S. soldiers as war criminals, Lindh's side said. Prosecutors countered that combat immunity applies only to combatants for a lawful armed force. President Bush determined in February that the Taliban were not a lawful force and their soldiers were not entitled to prisoner of war status under the Geneva Convention. Copyright 2002 The Associated Press | Privacy Policy

American holy warriors { July 16 2002 } American taliban seeks commuted sentence Fair trial { June 17 2002 } John walker fights back in court { April 1 2002 } Lindh cites first amendment { May 16 2002 } Lindh pleads guilty to aiding taliban { July 16 2002 } Lindh tied to cia agent killing conspiracy { June 5 2002 } Takoma parents speak for lindh { July 16 2002 } Walker gets 20 years { October 4 2002 } Walker makes terror clames under duress { December 1 2001 } Walker [jpg] Walker2002 [jpg] Files Listed: 12

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