Marin Taliban
Byline: Corey Lyons and Tom Lochner
Contra Costa Newspapers
Dec. 4, 2001
A 20-year-old Bay Area man who was injured and captured while fighting for the Taliban during an Afghanistan prison riot faces a difficult and uncertain future.
On Monday, a clamor of concern and curiosity swept through the region as word spread that John Phillip Walker Lindh-- whose spiritual quest led him to a black beard and Taliban loyalty -- was from Marin County.
Walker, a passionate student who studied Islam in the Bay Area before moving to the Middle East to continue his studies, was being held Monday by U.S. forces and anti-Taliban troops at an undisclosed location.
His capture Saturday following a bloody prison uprising in northern Afghanistan raises difficult questions about what should happen to an American fighting for a government that U.S. forces are trying to eliminate.
It remained unclear Monday what sort of charges, if any, Walker could face, but legal experts said that treason could be included. The maximum penalty for treason is death.
The former Marin County man who Abdul Hamid, meanwhile, was being treated for grenade and bullet wounds, Rear Adm. John D. Stufflebeem said Monday at the Pentagon.
His mother, Marilyn Walker of Fairfax, told a friend that she had lost contact with her son months ago and was shocked to learn in the news over the weekend that he had joined the Taliban.
"She was fearful of his relationship with Islam and the Islamic world, but never thought that he would be part of the Taliban," said a family friend, Stephenie Hendricks.
The United States has been told that two other Americans who supposedly were Taliban fighters have been detained in Afghanistan, but details on their identity or where they were captured were not available, according to Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Klee at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.
"The Northern Alliance has them, not us," Klee said. "Right now, we don't have anything."
On Monday, local and national journalists descended on Fairfax, a wooded, Marin County community of 7,000 people north of San Francisco where Walker had attended high school.
There, they sought to learn more about a mysterious young man who was raised as a Catholic but found comfort in Islam and left America in May for a new life in the Middle East.
Reporters gathered outside his mother's home, a two-story wooden duplex on a remote stretch of Bolinas Road, but she never showed up.
A crinkled note pasted to the front door read: "Press, please do not disturb Ms. Walker. If you have media inquiries, please call Stephenie Hendricks."
Later in the day, Hendricks, who met Marilyn Walker seven years ago when their daughters attended preschool together, held a news conference in downtown Fairfax.
She said that Marilyn Walker told her that the family has received death threats and was afraid to return to her house.
Around Fairfax, residents expressed surprise that a local man had been involved with the Taliban.
"I understand that everyone wants to shoot or hang this kid, but we should find out what happened first," said Delores Forni, a Fairfax resident since 1937 who expressed concern for the ordeal facing Walker's parents.
"If he was pointing a gun at any of my soldier friends, put him on trial," said Russell Decker, 51, a local guitarist. "If not, put him in a mental ward and bring him home."
In interviews with Newsweek, Marilyn Walker described her son as a "sweet, shy kid" with a pacifist's heart for social justice. His father, Frank Lindh, told the magazine he was proud of his son, who was memorizing the Quran. "He's a very good scholar," said Lindh, an attorney.
Walker told Newsweek that he had entered Afghanistan to help the Taliban build a "pure Islamic state." He told CNN he was a "jihadi," who received combat training at an al-Qaida camp in Northern Afghanistan, then fought in several battles before being captured by U.S. Special Forces.
Walker was among the last foreign fighters to surrender Saturday, days after U.S. bombs ended an uprising in which hundreds of prisoners, as well as an American CIA operative, were killed.
His parents, who are divorced, said they had not heard from their son in months and had been worried about his welfare. On Monday night, Frank Lindh Larry King on CNN that he was troubled by the recent news, but anxious to see his son again.
"John was a sweet kid who was very devoted and very religious," he said. "There was no reason to believe that he would put himself in this position in Afghanistan."
Lindh and his former wife have obtained an attorney to represent their son and to help with their request to see him.
Bill Jones, a friend and former housemate of Frank Lindh, said Walker is scholarly and "had no politics on his mind, only religion."
He said Walker was careful about his looks, always keeping his beard neatly trimmed, and that he went by "John" among friends and family even after taking the Islamic name Abdul Hamid.
"I think it's wrong to call him the American Taliban; as far as I am concerned he is the American victim of the Taliban. He was just a good kid who ended up in the wrong hands," Jones said.
Walker gave himself up Saturday after holding out for five days in an underground bunker beneath the 19th-century mud fort in Kunduz, Afghanistan, where hundreds of fighters were slaughtered 10 days ago.
Walker's parents said they had not heard any news of their youngest son until he was interviewed by CNN. They were shocked by what they heard.
"The metaphor that I'm using to describe this is like a kid joining the Presbyterian religion and, all of a sudden, he's part of the Ku Klux Klan," Hendricks said. "(Marilyn) had no idea that his spirituality would go in that direction."
The Northern Alliance said Monday that it is holding Walker, who surrendered with more than 80 other Taliban fighters. Sayid Noorullah, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Walker is being held "for his own security" at a secret location.
Walker was taken first to a hospital in Sheberghan, where more than 4,000 Taliban are imprisoned. American soldiers took him out of the hospital early Sunday, prompting speculation he had been removed from the country.
But Noorullah said Walker will remain in Afghan custody and could face justice in an Afghan court.
"His destiny will be decided by us, of course," he said, adding that the fate of all foreign Taliban fighters will be decided "in close cooperation with the United Nations."
Stufflebeem, of the Pentagon, said that he could not say what charges the captured man could face.
Nonetheless, a legal expert said Monday that Walker could face charges of treason.
"He (allegedly) took up arms against his country of citizenship: the United States," said UC Davis law professor Kevin R. Johnson.
"I think he (Walker) could possibly be charged with the crime of treason," said Johnson, a specialist in civil rights law, immigration law and civil procedure.
Walker would most likely be tried in a federal court, Johnson said. President George W. Bush's executive order authorizing prosecution of accused terrorists by military tribunals applies only to non-citizens, he said.
Another legal expert said there are potential obstacles to charging Walker with treason. The argument can be made that the nation is not at war in the sense that the U.S. Congress has not declared war, said UC Berkeley law professor Jesse Choper.
Contra Costa Newspapers
Dec. 4, 2001
A 20-year-old Bay Area man who was injured and captured while fighting for the Taliban during an Afghanistan prison riot faces a difficult and uncertain future.
On Monday, a clamor of concern and curiosity swept through the region as word spread that John Phillip Walker Lindh-- whose spiritual quest led him to a black beard and Taliban loyalty -- was from Marin County.
Walker, a passionate student who studied Islam in the Bay Area before moving to the Middle East to continue his studies, was being held Monday by U.S. forces and anti-Taliban troops at an undisclosed location.
His capture Saturday following a bloody prison uprising in northern Afghanistan raises difficult questions about what should happen to an American fighting for a government that U.S. forces are trying to eliminate.
It remained unclear Monday what sort of charges, if any, Walker could face, but legal experts said that treason could be included. The maximum penalty for treason is death.
The former Marin County man who Abdul Hamid, meanwhile, was being treated for grenade and bullet wounds, Rear Adm. John D. Stufflebeem said Monday at the Pentagon.
His mother, Marilyn Walker of Fairfax, told a friend that she had lost contact with her son months ago and was shocked to learn in the news over the weekend that he had joined the Taliban.
"She was fearful of his relationship with Islam and the Islamic world, but never thought that he would be part of the Taliban," said a family friend, Stephenie Hendricks.
The United States has been told that two other Americans who supposedly were Taliban fighters have been detained in Afghanistan, but details on their identity or where they were captured were not available, according to Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Klee at the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.
"The Northern Alliance has them, not us," Klee said. "Right now, we don't have anything."
On Monday, local and national journalists descended on Fairfax, a wooded, Marin County community of 7,000 people north of San Francisco where Walker had attended high school.
There, they sought to learn more about a mysterious young man who was raised as a Catholic but found comfort in Islam and left America in May for a new life in the Middle East.
Reporters gathered outside his mother's home, a two-story wooden duplex on a remote stretch of Bolinas Road, but she never showed up.
A crinkled note pasted to the front door read: "Press, please do not disturb Ms. Walker. If you have media inquiries, please call Stephenie Hendricks."
Later in the day, Hendricks, who met Marilyn Walker seven years ago when their daughters attended preschool together, held a news conference in downtown Fairfax.
She said that Marilyn Walker told her that the family has received death threats and was afraid to return to her house.
Around Fairfax, residents expressed surprise that a local man had been involved with the Taliban.
"I understand that everyone wants to shoot or hang this kid, but we should find out what happened first," said Delores Forni, a Fairfax resident since 1937 who expressed concern for the ordeal facing Walker's parents.
"If he was pointing a gun at any of my soldier friends, put him on trial," said Russell Decker, 51, a local guitarist. "If not, put him in a mental ward and bring him home."
In interviews with Newsweek, Marilyn Walker described her son as a "sweet, shy kid" with a pacifist's heart for social justice. His father, Frank Lindh, told the magazine he was proud of his son, who was memorizing the Quran. "He's a very good scholar," said Lindh, an attorney.
Walker told Newsweek that he had entered Afghanistan to help the Taliban build a "pure Islamic state." He told CNN he was a "jihadi," who received combat training at an al-Qaida camp in Northern Afghanistan, then fought in several battles before being captured by U.S. Special Forces.
Walker was among the last foreign fighters to surrender Saturday, days after U.S. bombs ended an uprising in which hundreds of prisoners, as well as an American CIA operative, were killed.
His parents, who are divorced, said they had not heard from their son in months and had been worried about his welfare. On Monday night, Frank Lindh Larry King on CNN that he was troubled by the recent news, but anxious to see his son again.
"John was a sweet kid who was very devoted and very religious," he said. "There was no reason to believe that he would put himself in this position in Afghanistan."
Lindh and his former wife have obtained an attorney to represent their son and to help with their request to see him.
Bill Jones, a friend and former housemate of Frank Lindh, said Walker is scholarly and "had no politics on his mind, only religion."
He said Walker was careful about his looks, always keeping his beard neatly trimmed, and that he went by "John" among friends and family even after taking the Islamic name Abdul Hamid.
"I think it's wrong to call him the American Taliban; as far as I am concerned he is the American victim of the Taliban. He was just a good kid who ended up in the wrong hands," Jones said.
Walker gave himself up Saturday after holding out for five days in an underground bunker beneath the 19th-century mud fort in Kunduz, Afghanistan, where hundreds of fighters were slaughtered 10 days ago.
Walker's parents said they had not heard any news of their youngest son until he was interviewed by CNN. They were shocked by what they heard.
"The metaphor that I'm using to describe this is like a kid joining the Presbyterian religion and, all of a sudden, he's part of the Ku Klux Klan," Hendricks said. "(Marilyn) had no idea that his spirituality would go in that direction."
The Northern Alliance said Monday that it is holding Walker, who surrendered with more than 80 other Taliban fighters. Sayid Noorullah, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Walker is being held "for his own security" at a secret location.
Walker was taken first to a hospital in Sheberghan, where more than 4,000 Taliban are imprisoned. American soldiers took him out of the hospital early Sunday, prompting speculation he had been removed from the country.
But Noorullah said Walker will remain in Afghan custody and could face justice in an Afghan court.
"His destiny will be decided by us, of course," he said, adding that the fate of all foreign Taliban fighters will be decided "in close cooperation with the United Nations."
Stufflebeem, of the Pentagon, said that he could not say what charges the captured man could face.
Nonetheless, a legal expert said Monday that Walker could face charges of treason.
"He (allegedly) took up arms against his country of citizenship: the United States," said UC Davis law professor Kevin R. Johnson.
"I think he (Walker) could possibly be charged with the crime of treason," said Johnson, a specialist in civil rights law, immigration law and civil procedure.
Walker would most likely be tried in a federal court, Johnson said. President George W. Bush's executive order authorizing prosecution of accused terrorists by military tribunals applies only to non-citizens, he said.
Another legal expert said there are potential obstacles to charging Walker with treason. The argument can be made that the nation is not at war in the sense that the U.S. Congress has not declared war, said UC Berkeley law professor Jesse Choper.
posted by Corey at 9:57 PM
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