‘American Taliban’ John Walker Lindh Released After 17 Years

The US-born Lindh was captured on the battlefield during the US invasion of Afghanistan in the months after the 9/11 terror attacks.

He pleaded guilty in 2002 to aiding the Taliban and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Back then he was vilified as a traitor. This week, though, he will leave prison.

Lindh, 38, will be put on probation. He will not be allowed to go online unless he has special permission, and he cannot travel freely.

Lindh became an Irish citizen while he was in prison (his grandmother was born in Donegal) and could move to Ireland when the travel restrictions are lifted.

Upon his release from prison, he will discover a world that has changed dramatically since his incarceration. He will have to grapple with daily life, learning how to use a smartphone, for example.

And he will face a society that has done little to prepare for his arrival.

Many experts, including the Federation of American Scientists’ Steven Aftergood, who specialises in national security, say the US should do more to help.

“In the justice system, we say ‘You, the criminal, are not like us’. But there is also a responsibility for society to say at the end ‘There is a place for you in our world’. We’ve very bad at that.”

Source : BBC