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Judge: Preserve 'all materials' in Walker Lindh case

Defense atttorneys say authorities are destroying evidence that would prove Walker Lindh was mistreated. They say this photo is proof he was tortured.
Defense atttorneys say authorities are destroying evidence that would prove Walker Lindh was mistreated. They say this photo is proof he was tortured.  


ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- A federal judge Thursday ordered the government to preserve all material related to the case of John Walker Lindh, the California native accused of fighting with the Taliban.

Walker Lindh's defense team had sought the preservation order, claiming authorities had destroyed evidence that would bolster their contention that their client had been mistreated while in U.S. custody.

The defense contends that U.S. military officials, who held Walker Lindh for several weeks last winter, altered interrogation reports to make their client look guilty.

Prosecutors deny the claim. Reports in December and January "paint a similar portrait of the defendant as a man who, even after the catastrophic events of September 11th ... maintained his allegiance to enemies of this country," the prosecution has said in court papers.

But while federal officials strongly dispute allegations that Walker Lindh was mistreated, U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty did not object to Thursday's ruling.

Walker Lindh, 21, was captured along with other Taliban fighters last November following a foiled prison uprising in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif. He has been charged with conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, providing support and services to foreign terrorist organizations and using firearms and destructive devices during crimes of violence.

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Three of the 10 charges carry a maximum life sentence; the other seven have prison terms of up to 90 years. Walker Lindh's trial begins August 26 in a federal court here.

The preservation order, issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, applies to materials held by the FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Department of State and the Department of Defense. It covers "written records, documents, notes, videotapes or photographs, excluding reports in the news media," according to the order.

A hearing on the matter that had been scheduled for Friday was canceled after Ellis issued the order.

Earlier this week, Ellis largely denied defense requests for more information from prosecutors about what they have on the Walker Lindh case, calling most of the requests too broad.

Pentagon officials also said this week that they believe another man captured with Walker Lindh in Mazar-e Sharif is also a U.S. citizen. Yasser Esam Hamdi will be transferred to the United States from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, officials said Thursday.



 
 
 
 


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