US Taliban Lindh pleads guilty in surprise deal

John Walker Lindh, an American captured by US forces during the war in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of aiding the Taliban and carrying explosives, in a surprise plea deal that spared him a possible life prison sentence.

Under terms of the plea agreement, Lindh agreed to a sentence of a maximum 20 years in prison - 10 years for each charge. All terrorism charges against him were dropped.

"I provided my services as a soldier to the Taliban last year from about August to December," the 21-year-old said at the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. "In the course of doing so I carried a rifle and two grenades. I did so knowingly and willingly knowing that it was illegal."

District Judge T.S. Ellis set an October 4, 2002, sentencing date. He has the final say in how long Lindh will be required to serve in prison.

Lindh, dressed in a green prisoner jumpsuit, stood at the podium and answered "yes" or "yes, sir" as Ellis summarised the plea agreement and asked a series of questions to ensure Lindh knew by signing it he was giving up his right to a trial.

The two charges Lindh pleaded guilty to included one from the original 10-count indictment - supplying services to the Taliban - and a new charge of carrying explosives while committing a felony.

Lindh's parents and a brother and sister sat in the second row in the courtroom looking on. After Lindh pleaded guilty and was taken away they gathered together for a group hug.

"He's a really good kid. I am really gratified that the government ... has decided to drop all of the terrorism charges against my son," Frank Lindh told reporters outside the court house.

The deal, reached late on Sunday, was announced in a hearing convened to decide whether any statements made by Lindh while in US custody in Afghanistan should be thrown out. As the hearing began, Lindh's lead defence attorney James Brosnahan stood and announced a deal had been reached.

White House officials said President George W. Bush was briefed last Wednesday on the Justice Department's decision to negotiate a plea bargain, and he supported the move.

US Attorney Paul McNulty said the deal had a provision allowing the government to seize Lindh and hold him as an "enemy combatant" if he engages in any "terrorist" behaviour after he is released from prison.

"(This sends) a very strong message to anyone who would be at all tempted to turn their back on the United States and align themselves with the enemies of this country," McNulty said after the hearing ended.

"What we've done is sought the strongest sentence possible given the charges against the defendant," he said. "The conduct was quite serious and we had to make sure that the sentence was serious and we're very confident that it is."

Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed the plea deal as an "important victory in America's war on terrorism."

"By going to Afghanistan and fighting shoulder to shoulder alongside the Taliban ... Lindh allied himself with terrorists who reject our values of freedom and democracy and turned his back on the United States of America," he said in a statement.

Brosnahan pointed out the government had dropped all charges that Lindh was affiliated with "terrorist" organisations like al Qaeda.

"He was a soldier in the Taliban," Brosnahan said outside the courthouse. "He did it for religious reasons. He did it as a Muslim and history overcame him, as we know.

"He never hurt anybody but he was a soldier of the Taliban," he said. "He never did shoot his gun. This is not Rambo we're talking about here."

Under the plea deal Lindh dropped all claims that he was mistreated by US forces while in detention in Afghanistan.

Lindh was caught in Afghanistan in late November while fighting with the Taliban and was transferred to US military custody on December 1, 2001.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to a 10-count indictment charging him with conspiring to kill Americans and conspiring with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. The United States blames bin Laden and al Qaeda for the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon that killed more than 3,000 people.

Under the agreement Lindh agreed to cooperate with the government and submit to interviews with law enforcement and intelligence officers.

Lindh also agreed that all proceeds made by anything he decided to publish on the deal would go to the government.