Parents of 'American Taliban' plead for release after Hicks deal

SAN FRANCISCO: The parents of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh called on US President George W Bush to free their son Tuesday, contrasting his treatment with Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.   

Lawyers for Lindh's family told a press conference they would file a petition with President George W Bush and the Justice Department, calling for the 26-year-old's 20-year sentence to be commuted.   

They said Lindh's sentence was unduly harsh compared to the nine-month term Hicks had received at a US military hearing last week which saw him agree to plead guilty to a terrorism charge.   

"Given the result in the Hicks case we are filing with the president and the Department of Justice a request for commutation of John Walker Lindh's sentence," lawyer Jim Brosnahan told reporters.    

"It is very simple. It is a question of proportionality, it is a question of fairness."   

Lindh was detained in Afghanistan in December 2001 while fighting for the Taliban against the Northern Alliance forces in the wake of the US-led invasion of the country.   

In 2002, he pleaded not guilty to a 10-count indictment which included charges of providing support to foreign terrorist organizations as well as contributing services to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.   

In a later plea deal, however, all terrorist-related charges were dropped in exchange for Lindh pleading guilty to two counts of serving in the Taliban army and carrying weapons.    

He was jailed for 20 years without parole in October 2002 and is currently being held at the Supermax maximum-security federal prison in Colorado.   

Lindh's mother Marilyn Walker said her son had never fought against US forces and never endorsed terrorism.   

"We hope that President Bush will respond today with sympathy and compassion ... we ask President Bush to please commute John's prison sentence," she said.   

"John has been in prison for more than five years and it is time for him to come home," she added.   

Lindh's father, Frank Lindh, said his son had been wrongly accused of fighting against America and being involved in terrorism.   

"We really do hope the president will commute John's sentence and allow him to come home," he said.   

Brosnahan said Lindh had been a victim of the climate of fear that gripped the United States in the months following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.   

"The time following 9/11 was a time of tremendous turmoil, of concern and worry," he said.

"And there was a feeling that anybody connected to the Taliban should be treated very harshly. And John was treated very harshly.