WASHINGTON (voa) – A federal grand jury has indicted U.S. citizen John Walker Lindh on 10 counts of conspiring to kill Americans in Afghanistan.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Tuesday that Mr. Lindh, also known as John Walker, allied himself with those who recognize no law, but brute force.
The indictment includes three charges that were not part of the government’s original complaint, using firearms during an act of violence, conspiracy to supply services to the Taleban, and contributing services to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terrorist group.
Mr. Ashcroft said Mr. Lindh agreed to attend an al-Qaida training camp last year, knowing that the group’s principal purpose was to fight and kill Americans.
He also said Mr. Lindh stayed with al-Qaida after the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, even though he knew Osama bin Laden was responsible and more attacks on U.S. citizens were planned. Mr. Ashcroft said the reason Mr. Lindh joined the terrorists may never be known, but he said the fact that he made this choice is clear. If convicted, Mr. Lindh faces multiple life prison terms.
U.S. troops discovered John Walker Lindh after a December prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, and took him into custody. He is now being held in a jail near Washington.
Earlier Tuesday, his lawyers asked he be freed pending trial, contending there is no chance he would flee.
Mr. Lindh is expected to appear in U.S. Federal District Court in Alexandria again next week.
