International

'American Taliban' will stand trial

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington JUNE 18. A district judge has ruled that John Walker Lindh — dubbed as the American Taliban — will stand trial in a city close to the Pentagon and has rejected all major constitutional challenges to the indictment. More important, T.S. Ellis, said he did not expect jurors to be unfamiliar with the case. "One may have to go to planet Pluto to find someone who has not heard or read about this case," he remarked.

The 21-year-old Lindh is charged, among other things, with conspiring to murder Americans and providing services to the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda; and could receive a life sentence if convicted on the most serious charges. Lawyers for Lindh argued that their client could not receive a fair trial anywhere in America, but at the same time tried to move the case to northern California where Lindh grew up. Mr. Ellis, however, promised a fair trial. "If I'm not able to seat a fair and impartial jury, we will go somewhere else," he said.

Mr. Ellis said Lindh's association with the Taliban was not within his First Amendment rights of association. "The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of association is not a pass to provide terrorists with resources and services." Attorneys for Lindh argued that as a captured enemy soldier, he had immunity from federal prosecution. They also alleged that Lindh was being unfairly prosecuted because of his religion. The judge was told that prosecutors had made several inflammatory statements that could prejudice potential jurors. Mr. Ellis, however, said he had reviewed the statements and found none to be prejudicial.

The district judge ruled that Lindh had no immunity from federal prosecution as the Government had decided that the Taliban militia, being a force of unlawful combatants, were not entitled to take refuge under international treaties. The trial is slated to take place around the same time that the U.S. will observe the first anniversary of the Sep 11, 2001, attacks.

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