American Taliban asks Bush to commute 20-year sentence

[Kadie]

American Taliban asks Bush to commute 20-year sentence

DAVID KRAVETS, AP Legal Affairs Writer
Tuesday, September 28, 2004


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(09-28) 11:47 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --

John Walker Lindh asked President Bush on Tuesday to commute his 20-year prison term for his 2002 conviction of aiding the Taliban.

His lawyer, James Brosnahan, said Lindh was a young man in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said Lindh was fighting alongside the Taliban in a civil war against the Northern Alliance, that he's not a terrorist and he never fought against U.S. troops.

Brosnahan said the sentence should be reduced because Yaser Esam Hamdi also was caught aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan and is now being released after serving three years in prison. Hamdi will not be charged with any crime under an agreement with federal officials made public Monday. Hamdi will be required to give up his American citizenship and will be sent to Saudi Arabia where he grew up.

"Comparable conduct should be treated in comparable ways in terms of sentencing," Brosnahan said during a news conference at his office.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/09/28/state1403EDT0057.DTL