U.S.-born Taliban fighter may tell his story
Federal prison officials are easing restrictions on American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh, moves that his attorney said Wednesday will allow Lindh to tell his story for the first time.
U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Dean Boyd said the restrictions on Lindh, 28, will expire Friday. He said the limits are not public and he cannot discuss them.
The restrictions imposed on Lindh in March 2002 have been modified several times as “the perceived threat of Lindh’s communications diminished,” Boyd said.
Lindh, of Fairfax, Calif., is serving a 20-year term at a prison in Indiana for aiding Afghanistan’s now-defunct Taliban government. He was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 by U.S. forces sent to topple the Taliban after Sept. 11. Jim Brosnahan, a San Francisco attorney who represents Lindh, said the changes would allow Lindh to meet with people other than lawyers and kin. He said the restrictions have prevented Lindh from telling how he ended up aiding Islamic fundamentalists.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
