John Philip Walker Lindh (born February 9, 1981) is an American Taliban member who was captured by United States forces as an enemy combatant during the United States' invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001. He was detained at Qala-i-Jangi fortress, which was used as a prison. He denied participating in the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi, a violent uprising of the Taliban prisoners, stating that he was wounded in the leg and hid in the cellar of the Pink House, in the southern half of the fort. He was one of the 86 prisoners who survived the uprising, from an estimated 400 prisoners in total. CIA officer Johnny Micheal Spann was killed during that uprising.Harnden, Toby, First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11. Little, Brown, 2021. p. 193 Brought to trial in United States federal court in February 2002, Lindh accepted a plea bargain; he pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released on parole on May 23, 2019, for a three-year period of supervised release.
A convert to Sunni Islam in California at age 16, Lindh traveled to Yemen in 1998 to study Arabic and stayed there for 10 months. He later returned in 2000, then went to Afghanistan to aid the Taliban in fighting against the Afghan Northern Alliance. He received training at Al-Farouq, a training camp associated with al-Qaeda, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other countries. While at the camp, he attended a lecture by Osama bin Laden. After the September 11 attacks, he remained with the Taliban military forces despite learning that the U.S. had become allied with the Northern Alliance. Lindh had previously received training with Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, an internationally designated terrorist organization based in Pakistan.Original Indictment John Walker Lindh IndictmentStatement of Facts U.S. Department of JusticeLindh, Frank. "Truth About John Lindh (speech) "
Lindh went by the name Sulayman al-Faris during his time in Afghanistan but later preferred the name Abu Sulayman al-Irlandi. In early reports following his capture, when the press learned that he was a U.S. citizen, he was usually referred to by the news media as just "John Walker".
Youth, conversion, and travels Lindh was born in Washington, D.C., to Marilyn Walker and Frank R. Lindh, as the middle of three children in the family. He was named "John" after John Lennon, who was murdered two months before Lindh's birth. He was baptized a Catholic, and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to San Anselmo, California. Lindh suffered from an intestinal disorder as a child. At age 14, his health improved. He enrolled at Redwood High School as a freshman. He then transferred to Tamiscal High School in the Tamalpais Union High School District, an alternative school offering self-directed, individualized study programs. While there, he studied world culture, including Sunni Islam and the Middle East.
Lindh dropped out of the school and eventually earned an equivalent of a high school diploma by passing the California High School Proficiency Exam at age 16. As an adolescent, Lindh participated in IRC chatrooms with the IRC nickname Mujahid. He became a devoted fan of hip-hop music and engaged in extensive discussions on Usenet newsgroups, sometimes pretending to be an African-American rapper who would criticize others for "acting black".John Lindh Usenet Postings John Lindh Spike Lee's film Malcolm X impressed him deeply and sparked his interest in Islam.
Although his parents did not divorce until 1999, their marriage was in serious trouble throughout Lindh's adolescence. His father often left their Marin County residence for extended periods to live in San Francisco with a male lover. Frank Lindh said he and Marilyn had been separated since 1997. Also in 1997, at the age of 16, Lindh converted to Islam. He began regularly attending mosques in Mill Valley and later in nearby San Francisco.
In 1998, Lindh traveled to Yemen and stayed for about 10 months to learn Arabic so that he could read the Qur'an in its original language. He returned to the United States in 1999, living with his family for about eight months. Lindh returned to Yemen in February 2000 and left for Pakistan to study at a madrasa. While abroad, Lindh exchanged numerous emails with his family. In one, his father told him about the USS Cole bombing, to which Lindh replied that the American naval destroyers being in the Yemen harbor had been an act of war, and that the bombing was justified. His father told Newsweek: "This raised my concerns, but my days of molding him were over."
At the age of 20, Lindh decided to travel to Afghanistan to fight for the Afghan Taliban government forces against Northern Alliance fighters. His parents said that he was moved by stories of atrocities allegedly perpetrated by the Northern Alliance army against civilians. He traveled to Afghanistan in May 2001. Tony West, his lawyer, explained it as follows: "One of the first things he told Army interrogators when they questioned him on December 3, 2001, was that after 9/11 happened, he wanted to leave the front lines but could not for fear of his life. John never wanted to be in a position where he was opposing the United States (and never thought he would be), and in fact he never opposed any American military."
Capture and interrogation Lindh surrendered on November 24, 2001, to Afghan Northern Alliance forces after his al-Qaeda foreign fighters unit surrendered at Kunduz after retreating from Takar. He and other fighters were to be questioned by the CIA officers Johnny "Mike" Spann and David Tyson at General Dostum's military garrison, Qala-i-Jangi, near Mazār-e Sharīf. During the initial questioning, Lindh was not advised of his (legal) rights, and his request for a lawyer was denied.
Lindh, who had a grandmother from County Donegal, had told other prisoners he was Irish.Harnden, "First Casualty," p. 276 While being interviewed by the CIA, he did not reveal that he was American. Spann asked Lindh, "Are you a member of the IRA?" He was asked this question because, when questioned by Spann, an Iraqi in the group identified Lindh as an English speaker. Lindh had been told to say he was "Irish" to avoid problems. Moments later, around 11 am, the makeshift prison was the scene of a violent uprising, which became known as the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi. Spann and hundreds of foreign fighters were killed; only 86 prisoners survived. According to other detainees interviewed by journalist Robert Young Pelton for CNN, Lindh was fully aware of the planned uprising, yet remained silent and did not cooperate with the Americans.
Sometime during the initial uprising, Lindh was shot or hit by shrapnel in the right upper thigh and found refuge in a basement, hiding with the rest of the detainees. On the second day, the Red Cross sent in workers to collect the dead. As soon as they entered, the workers were shot by the prisoners, who killed one. The Northern Alliance repeatedly bombarded the area with RPGs and grenade attacks, and burning fuel poured in. Finally, on December 2, 2001, Northern Alliance forces diverted an irrigation stream into the middle of the camp to flush the remaining prisoners out of their underground shelters, drowning many in the process.Taliban Uprising National Geographic Documentary Lindh and about 85 survivors from the original 300–500 were forced out of hiding. Northern Alliance soldiers bound Lindh's elbows behind his back.
Shortly after his recapture, Lindh was noticed and interviewed by Robert Pelton, who was working as a stringer for CNN. Lindh initially gave his name as "Abd-al-Hamid" but later gave his birth name. Pelton brought a medic and food for Lindh and interviewed him about how he got there. During the interview, Lindh said that he was a member of al-Ansar, a group of Arabic-speaking fighters financed by Osama bin Laden. Lindh said that the prison uprising was sparked by some of the prisoners smuggling grenades into the basement: "This is against what we had agreed upon with the Northern Alliance, and this is against Islam. It is a major sin to break a contract, especially in military situations". A U.S. Army Special Forces operator, fresh from three weeks of combat, gave up his bed so that the wounded Lindh could sleep there. Pelton repeatedly asked Lindh if he wanted to call his parents or have the journalist do so, but Lindh declined. Although Lindh was not tested for explosives or firearms residue before he was washed, an FBI source later told author Toby Harnden that dark stains on the right side of Lindh's face indicated he had fired a weapon at Qala-i Jangi.Harnden, "First Casualty", p. 279
After capture, Lindh was given basic first aid and questioned for a week at Mazār-e Sharīf. He was taken to Camp Rhino on December 7, 2001, the bullet or piece of shrapnel still within his thigh. When Lindh arrived at Camp Rhino, he was stripped and restrained on a stretcher, blindfolded and placed in a metal shipping container, which was procedure for dealing with a potentially dangerous detainee associated with a terrorist organization. On the day he left the Turkish School, he was photographed with the words "Shit Head" written onto duct tape on his blindfoldHarnden, "First Casualty," p. 294 by Green Berets posing for a "team photo" with their captive. The Green Berets, from 592, were later investigated. While bound to the stretcher at Camp Rhino, Lindh was photographed by some American military personnel. At Camp Rhino, he was given oxycodone/paracetamol for pain and diazepam.
On December 8 and 9, he was interviewed by the FBI, and was mirandized on December 9 or 10. He was held at Camp Rhino until he was transferred to the on December 14, 2001, with other wounded detainees, where his wound was operated on and he received further care. He was interrogated before the operation on December 14. While on the Peleliu, he signed confession documents while in the custody of the United States Marine Corps. On December 31, 2001, Lindh was transferred to the USS Bataan, where he was held until January 22, 2002. He was flown back to the United States to face criminal charges. On January 16, 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that Lindh would be tried in the United States.
In 2002, former President George H. W. Bush referred to Lindh as "some misguided Marin County hot-tubber". The comment, in which Bush also mispronounced the county's name, provoked a minor furor from Marin residents and prompted a retraction of the statement by Bush. Lindh's attorneys told the press that his client had asked for a lawyer repeatedly before being interviewed by the FBI, but did not get one, and that "highly coercive" prison conditions forced Lindh to waive his right to remain silent. Although the FBI asked Jesselyn Radack, a Justice Department ethics adviser, whether Lindh could be questioned without a lawyer present, they did not follow her advice to avoid that scenario.
Trial and sentencing On February 5, 2002, Lindh was indicted by a federal grand jury on ten charges: Conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals Two counts of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations Two counts of providing material support and resources to terrorist organizations Conspiracy to supply services to the Taliban Supplying services to the Taliban Conspiracy to contribute services to al-Qaeda Contributing services to al-Qaeda Using and carrying firearms and destructive devices during crimes of violence
If convicted of these charges, Lindh could have received up to three life sentences and 90 additional years in prison. On February 13, 2002, he pleaded not guilty to all 10 charges.