John Walker Lindh, the American who fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan, has received a 20-year prison sentence.
It came after he condemned Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network during a sobbing, halting plea for forgiveness.
|
US District Judge TS Ellis III, sitting in Alexandria, Virginia, accepted the plea-agreement Lindh's lawyers had negotiated with the government.
During a drama-packed two-and-a-half hour proceeding, he told the young Californian: "You were willing to give your life for the Taliban but not for your country."
In a 20-minute statement, Lindh expressed remorse for joining the Taliban, saying: "I understand why so many Americans were angry when I was first discovered in Afghanistan. I realise that many still are, but I hope that with time and understanding, their feelings will change."
The judge acknowledged Lindh's plea, but declared: "Forgiveness is separate from punishment."
He told the judge that "bin Laden's terrorist attacks are completely against Islam, completely contrary to the conventions of jihad and without any justification whatsoever".
"His grievances, whatever they may be, cannot be addressed by acts of injustice and violence against innocent people in America."
Lindh was captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan and was in the vicinity of a prison uprising where CIA agent Johnny "Mike" Spann was killed. Spann's father, Johnny, told the judge that Lindh was partly responsible for his son's death.
But the judge said he never would have approved the plea agreement if the government had shown any evidence that Lindh was responsible for Mr Spann's death.
AP