Lindh Lawyers Assail Charges

Lawyers for John Walker Lindh on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss half of the 10-count indictment against him, including one count charging the American Talib with conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens.

In documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., Lindh’s lawyers said their client, a 21-year-old Californian discovered fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan and brought back to the United States to stand trial, could not be prosecuted for taking part in a conflict.

The lawyers also said he should not face four charges relating to supplying services to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, blamed by the United States for the Sept. 11 attacks on America, which killed about 3,000 people.

Lindh’s defense team asked the court to dismiss the first count of conspiracy to commit murder, saying the charge as written violates international law.

“Count One as charged directly violates the well-established international law principle of combat immunity, which the United States has affirmed by treaty and adopted as part of its military and domestic law,” the attorneys said in a memorandum.

“According to that principle, soldiers cannot be criminally prosecuted simply for taking part in an armed conflict. They can be prosecuted only for defined war crimes,” it said. “There are no allegations or evidence that Mr. Lindh committed any war crimes or otherwise violated the laws of war.”

Lindh’s lawyers already have asked the court to dismiss the first count if the government would not give them access to potential witnesses being held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba--people who they say may have information helpful to Lindh.

Judge T.S. Ellis has yet to rule on that request.

In a separate memorandum filed on Monday, the defense team said four other counts--which charge Lindh with conspiracy to contribute services or with contributing services to the Taliban and to Al Qaeda--should also be dropped.

They argued that the regulations used for the charges were financial in nature and did not pertain to the accusations spelled out in the indictment.

“The indictment does not specify what alleged actions by Mr. Lindh the government believes constituted providing services to al Qaeda and/or the Taliban,” they wrote. “The indictment alleges no actions by Mr. Lindh that might be characterized as financial, professional, or technical service to the Taliban or al Qaeda.”

“The government does not allege that Mr. Lindh traded in Taliban or al Qaeda goods, that he provided any financial services or financial support to the Taliban or to al Qaeda, that he provided or received any property to or from the Taliban or from al Qaeda or that he engaged in any commercial transactions of any kind with the Taliban or al Qaeda.”

Jury selection for Lindh’s trial is due to begin Aug. 26.