Walker at the time of his arrest
With his head shaven and his stare fixed straight, John Walker heads to his first appearance in court
Walker's parents and one of four lawyers arrive in Virginia
Official: Walker waived right to counsel in Afghanistan
By Larry Margasak, Associated Press Writer, Posted January 24 2002, 10:58 AM EST Link
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- In his first court appearance, Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh told a federal judge "Yes I do, thank you" when asked today if he understood charges that he conspired to kill his fellow Americans in Afghanistan.
Walker, wearing a green prison jumpsuit, his previously long hair and beard shorn, stood straight with his arms at his side throughout the 15-minute hearing, glancing several times to prosecutors at his right. He never turned to look at his parents, sitting two rows behind.
U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Curtis Sewell also asked Walker whether he understood the penalties, which could include life in prison.
"Yes I do, sir," Walker said in a quiet voice that could still be easily heard in the courtroom.
Walker spoke a third time when the judge asked whether he understood that he would be kept in custody until a preliminary hearing, set for Feb. 6.
"No sir, I don't have any questions," Walker said.
In a sign of legal arguments to come, Walker's attorney, James Brosnahan, told reporters after the hearing that Walker had "asked for a lawyer, repeatedly asked for a lawyer," from early December on, "and the officials who have commented on this case knew that."
But U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty told reporters that Walker, 20, had signed a statement waiving his right to counsel when he spoke to the FBI overseas after his capture in northern Afghanistan. Defense lawyers already have said they would challenge the statement's admissibility because an attorney wasn't present. Walker was recovering from a battle wound at the time.
"These charges are very serious," prosecutor McNulty said after the hearing. "This is a matter that has the utmost gravity."
The young man's parents, who saw their son for the first time in two years during a private meeting shortly before the hearing, asserted afterward that he is innocent.
"John loves America. John did not do anything against America," Frank Lindh told reporters. "He is innocent of these charges."
Walker's mother, Marilyn Walker, fought tears as she said: "It's been two years since I last saw my son. It was wonderful to see him this morning. My love for him is unconditional and absolute.
"I am grateful to God that he has been brought home to his family, me, his home and his country," she said.
Heavy security surrounded Walker's arrival at the federal courthouse here, just a few miles from the Pentagon, which was extensively damaged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Snipers stood on the roof and armed officers were outside the building.
Walker was represented in the courtroom by four attorneys, including Brosnahan of San Francisco, who told reporters he first met his client on Thursday morning for 45 minutes before the hearing.
"He was very helpful," Brosnahan said of his client. "You can imagine that this young man was not fully aware of the intensity of the publicity."
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelley said the government was insisting that Walker remain in custody because of the risk that he would try to flee and because of his potential danger to the community. Sewell granted the request.
Brosnahan told the judge that Walker did not learn the precise charges against him until the day before.
Sewell then set the Feb. 6 hearing to determine whether Walker would continue to be held in custody.
Walker faces four charges, according to the government's criminal complaint. Those are engaging in a conspiracy to kill Americans in Afghanistan, providing material support and resources to foreign terrorist organizations, engaging in prohibited transactions with the Taliban and providing goods and services to and for the benefit of the Taliban.
Walker was captured in November near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif after an uprising by Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners there. An American CIA operative, Johnny "Mike" Spann, was killed during the uprising.
Walker left his country two years ago to study Arabic and Islam in Yemen, and then apparently went to Pakistan and from there to Afghanistan.
The government's case against Walker is built around a criminal complaint based mainly on his interviews with the FBI on Dec. 9 and 10 and statements he made in a television interview.
An FBI affidavit said that while Walker was at an al-Qaida training camp in June, he "learned from one of his instructors that Osama bin Laden had sent people to the United States to carry out several suicide operations."
When he learned of the Sept. 11 attacks by radio, Walker told the FBI, it was his understanding "that bin Laden had ordered the attacks and that additional attacks would follow."
Walker, a Californian who converted to Islam at age 16, said he trained for seven weeks in an al-Qaida camp where bin Laden visited three to five times, giving lectures "on the local situation, political issues, old Afghan/Soviet battles, etc.," the affidavit said.
-- Anonymous, January 24, 2002