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John walker fights back in court { April 1 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=762546http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=762546
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=8&id=209323
American Taliban Fighter Lindh Back in Court
Last Updated: April 01, 2002 04:57 PM ET
By Deborah Zabarenko
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) -
Prosecutors in the case of U.S. Taliban John Walker Lindh need not prove he killed Americans, but they must show he knowingly belonged to groups that had this deadly goal, a judge said on Monday.
"The government will have to prove at trial that this conspiracy existed and that the defendant knowingly joined this conspiracy, that he knew the object of this conspiracy was to kill Americans in Afghanistan, Pakistan or in the United States," U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis said in a pre-trial hearing in Lindh's conspiracy case.
Lindh's indictment did not charge him with killing Americans, but rather with being involved in a conspiracy that aimed to kill Americans abroad. Ellis agreed with prosecutors that they need not show he actually killed Americans, giving prosecutors an apparent advantage.
Lindh, a 21-year-old Californian, walked into court in a dark green jumpsuit with the word "PRISONER" on the back in white and smiled briefly at members of his family seated in the gallery.
His dark hair was clipped short and his face clean-shaven, a sharp contrast to photographs taken when he was captured last November in Afghanistan, which showed him with shoulder-length hair and a beard.
Lindh's lawyers on Monday released another image of Lindh, taken in December at the U.S. military's Camp Rhino at Kandahar, to support their claim that he was mistreated while in custody.
He is shown naked, seemingly tied to a cot with straps around his chest and his wrists, with his eyes covered with what appears to be tape or a blindfold.
"The government had said that they treated John the same as American soldiers," Lindh attorney James Brosnahan said outside the courtroom. "The picture might indicate to the casual observer that that was not the case."
Prosecutors said in court papers on Friday that Lindh was not tortured by the U.S. military after his capture, and said he got medical treatment for his wounds, better sleeping conditions than his doctor, healthy meals and a haircut.
Lindh was charged in a 10-count indictment that included conspiring to kill U.S. civilians and military personnel abroad, engaging in prohibited transactions with Afghanistan's deposed Taliban rulers and conspiring with and aiding the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's extremist al Qaeda network.
Lindh, who converted to Islam as a teenager, could potentially face life in prison if convicted. Trial is set to begin Aug 26.
Captured in the fall of Kunduz in Afghanistan, Lindh was shot in the leg during a bloody prison uprising outside the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where CIA officer Johnny "Mike" Spann was killed. Ellis agreed with prosecutors they did not have to show Lindh was directly responsible for Spann's death to prove their case.
Prosecutor David Kelley said Lindh trained in Taliban and al Qaeda camps, and said it did not matter whether these camps were described as terrorist, saying both were listed as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
"It's not what you learn there, it's how you use it," Kelley said in court. "If he's doing it for al Qaeda or Taliban, which are terrorist organizations, then that fits the statute."
When defense attorney George Harris argued Lindh was not in Afghanistan to conspire to commit acts against Americans, Ellis snapped, "What was he doing over there?" then caught himself. "You don't have to answer that. It was an inappropriate question," the judge said.
Ellis agreed Lindh's attorneys should have some access to prisoners captured in Afghanistan and held at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere. This could be accomplished by seeking interviews with them, and if the interviews were refused, by issuing subpoenas, Ellis said.
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