ALEXANDRIA, Va. (REUTERS) — John Walker Lindh, the American who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a 10-count indictment that includes charges he conspired to kill Americans abroad.
“Not guilty, sir,” Lindh, wearing a dark-green jumpsuit with “prisoner” stenciled in white letters on the back, said in a firm, clear voice after the judge asked him how he pleaded to all charges against him.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis rejected the recommendation by the defense and prosecutors that the trial begin in mid-November, saying he would prefer a trial at the end of August or September at the latest for the Californian, who was captured in Afghanistan in late November.
The judge put off until Friday a decision on the trial date for Lindh, who just turned 21 and who smiled at his parents as he was taken from the courtroom.
Lindh is facing a 10-count indictment that includes charges of conspiring to kill Americans abroad including civilians and military personnel, engaging in prohibited transactions with the deposed Taliban government, and conspiring with and aiding the Taliban and Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network.
The United States has blamed the Saudi-born fugitive bin Laden and his al Qaeda network for the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that killed about 3,000 people.
Lindh, who converted to Islam as a teenager, faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted.
Captured in the fall of Kunduz, Lindh was shot in the leg during a bloody prison uprising outside the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where CIA officer Johnny “Mike” Spann was killed.
Spann’s parents attended the hearing. After it ended, in the hallway outside the courtroom, Lindh’s father walked up to the Spanns and tried to say something, witnesses said.
An official from the U.S. Attorney’s office intervened and ushered the Spanns into the elevator before any conversation could take place, the witnesses said.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Shannon Spann, the wife of the dead CIA officer, said she would have preferred Lindh to have been charged with treason and to face the death penalty.
The mother, Gail Spann, said, “Mike was a hero, not because of the way he died but because of the way he lived. I would also like to say that John Walker is a traitor because of the way he lived.”
John Spann said he shared his son’s faith in the U.S. justice system. “We assume and we believe that justice will prevail,” he said.
The indictment does not charge Lindh with Spann’s death.
Lindh spoke only briefly during the 25-minute hearing, saying, “Good morning, sir,” after the judge greeted him. He replied, “Yes, sir,” when asked if he had a copy of the indictment.
Judge Ellis said he would like to begin jury selection with Aug. 26 as a target date.
Defense lawyer George Harris said the mid-November date reflected how the events in the indictment occurred in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, and that the defense team would need to do an investigation in those countries.
“You need to get about it swiftly,” Ellis said.
Prosecutor Randy Bellows estimated it would take the government about two weeks to put on its case against Lindh at trial. He said jury selection could take an additional day.
Bellows said the amount of classified information that the government plans to use was “limited,” adding, “along the line of one file drawer.”
Ellis said he would decide Friday on specific dates for filing motions and holding hearings on classified information. He also said he will set dates for various motions, including expected motions by the defense to suppress statements Lindh made to an FBI agent in Afghanistan in early December.
Defense lawyers have said he was held in “highly coercive circumstances” and that repeated requests for a lawyer were ignored. Attorney General John Ashcroft has denied that Lindh’s rights were violated.