WASHINGTON - The existence of photographs showing U.S. soldiers posing with Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, handcuffed and wearing a blindfold with an obscenity written across it, is posing new problems for the Pentagon.
The disclosure by military officials Friday could help support claims by his lawyer that Lindh was mistreated while in military custody.
It is at least the third troublesome incident for the Defense Department involving photos of Lindh, a 21-year-old Californian who is accused of training with al-Qaida terrorists and is charged with conspiring to kill Americans.
In a court motion, his lawyers have said unofficial photos and videos of Lindh were taken aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu, where he was confined. Pentagon officials said the taking of personal photos by troops on deployment is common, but in this instance an officer confiscated cameras and film and erased digital images.
Also as part of a court filing, Lindh's lawyers last month released a picture of him in Afghanistan, blindfolded, strapped to a stretcher and naked. Defense officials have said that while that photo may have appeared shocking, he was naked as part of his preparation for medical treatment.
In the newly disclosed photos, an obscene, derogatory word is written across Lindh's blindfold, said a senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Pentagon has limited the news media in the kind of photos it can take of prisoners from the war in Afghanistan, arguing that photos subjecting the prisoners to humiliation violate the Geneva Convention.
The photos troops took of themselves with their prisoner were found when the Pentagon did a computer search for documents and other materials ordered by the court, another official said.
Existence of the photos was first reported by CBS.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he didn't know if the photos were being held at the Pentagon and that he hadn't seen them.
``You know, there's hundreds of detainees, and about every day somebody says something,'' he said in response to reporter's questions.
``I guess if you ask me when I got up in the morning - and we've got people being killed in the Mideast and we've got a war going on in Afghanistan - if I am going to change my schedule and go chasing after rumors on things like that, it's unlikely,'' he said in impromptu comments in a Pentagon hallway.
Lindh's lawyers have said he was under duress when he made statements to U.S. authorities that he had trained with al-Qaida. They said their client was held under horrific conditions after his capture.
The government denies this, saying his food and medical care equaled that of U.S. soldiers.
Lindh is accused of conspiring to murder U.S. citizens, providing support and services to foreign terrorist organizations including al-Qaida and using firearms and destructive devices during crimes of violence. Three of the 10 charges carry a maximum life sentence; the other seven have prison terms of up to 90 years.
Lindh was taken into custody by U.S. authorities and Afghan allies in Afghanistan in early December after an uprising by battlefield prisoners.
He was returned to the United States on a military plane Jan. 23 and is jailed in Alexandria, Va., outside Washington.
Tuesday
February 25th, 2025
4:09PM
