Father Of 'American Taliban' Discusses Case At USF
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN/AP) - The father of American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh said Wednesday that his son is handling prison well nearly a decade after being captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
Frank Lindh, an attorney who has advocated for his son's release, told students at the University of San Francisco School of Law on Wednesday that his son, now 30, spends his days studying ancient Islamic texts and is earning a liberal arts degree from the University of Indiana.
Walker Lindh is serving a 20-year sentence in a medium-security federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for supplying his services to the Taliban and carrying a weapon while doing so. As a result of his actions, Walker Lindh is sometimes referred to as American Taliban.
Lindh's father spoke as part of an ongoing campaign to clear his son's name of what he calls government and media smears connecting the younger Lindh to terrorism.
Walker Lindh, who had converted to Islam, joined the Taliban in Afghanistan in the summer of 2001 and was captured late that year.
He pleaded guilty to two felony counts in federal court in Virginia in 2002. His expected release is in May 2013.
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