John Walker Lindh

John Phillip Walker Lindh is an American citizen who was captured in Afghanistan while fighting for the Taliban during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Walker was born on February 9, 1981 to parents Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh. He was baptized Catholic and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, until he was ten years old and his family moved to San Anselmo, California in famously liberal Marin County. In 1997, at age 16, Walker converted to Islam. In 1998, he traveled to Yemen for about ten months, to learn Arabic so that he would be able to read the Quran in its original language. He returned to the United States in 1999, living with his family for about eight months before returning to Yemen in February 2000, whence he left for Pakistan to study at an austere madrasa (Islamic school). He is believed to have entered Afghanistan in the spring of 2001.

Upon capture, Walker signed confession documents while he was held by the United States Marine Corps on USS Peleliu and proudly informed his interrogators that he was not merely Taliban but al Qaeda. He was flown to the US on January 23, 2002. His defense attorney claimed to the press that he asked for a lawyer repeatedly before being interviewed but he didn't get one, and that "highly coercive" prison conditions forced Lindh to waive his right to remain silent.

On February 5, 2002, Lindh was indicted by a federal grand jury on ten charges, including conspiring to support terrorist organizations and conspiring to murder Americans. The indictment can be seen at:

http://news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/terrorism/uswlindh11502cmp.html

The charges carry three life terms and 90 additional years in prison. On February 13, he pleaded "not guilty" to all ten charges.