After two years, John Walker Lindh and parents meet

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Posted 12:01PM on Thursday, January 24, 2002

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Two years after last seeing their son, the parents of Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh met with him on Thursday shortly before his first appearance in federal court. "John loves America. We love America," Frank Lindh said after the hearing, where prosecutors outlined the charges against the 20-year-old Californian, who converted to Islam at age 16. The younger Lindh, who was captured in Afghanistan after an uprising by Taliban prisoners in which a CIA officer was killed, faces charges including conspiring to kill fellow Americans in Afghanistan. Frank Lindh said his son was innocent of the charges. "John did not do anything against America," he said. Lindh's mother, Marilyn Walker, said she was "grateful to God" that her son was home. John Walker Lindh was returned to the United States on Wednesday aboard a military cargo plane, two years after he left the United States for Yemen to study Arabic and Islam, going from there to Pakistan and then Afghanistan. "It's been two years since I last saw my son. It was wonderful to see him this morning. My love for him is unconditional and absolute," his mother said, fighting back tears. "I am grateful to God that he has been brought home to his family, me, his home and his country." In court, Lindh's parents, who are divorced and live near San Francisco, sat in the second row of the courtroom to watch the proceedings against their son. The son wore a green prison jumpsuit and was shorn of the long dark hair and beard he wore as a Taliban fighter. He did not turn to look at his parents during the hearing, instead mostly staring straight ahead at the judge. Frank Lindh said the parents met with their son before the hearing and found him in good condition. But he said they were concerned to learn that he did not receive medical treatment until he was transferred to a U.S. naval ship nearly two weeks after he was captured in Afghanistan.