Ex-Taliban commander gets 42 years in prison in killings of US soldiers and journalists' kidnappings

NEW YORK (AP) — A erstwhile Taliban commandant was sentenced to 42 years successful situation connected Tuesday for crimes including kidnapping a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and providing enactment that led to the deaths of 3 American soldiers.

Haji Najibullah's sentencing capped a daylong proceeding successful Manhattan national tribunal that featured a melodramatic fewer moments erstwhile the reporter, David Rohde, faced Najibullah and described however Najibullah took portion successful the abduction of him and 2 different men successful 2008 successful Afghanistan but was present “refusing to instrumentality work arsenic I look astatine him today.”

Rohde, who is MSNOW’s nationalist information newsman and antecedently worked for The New York Times and different publications, told Judge Katherine Polk Failla that helium was “surprised and disappointed” that Najibullah was trying to blasted others and circumstances for his relation successful the kidnapping of Rohde, different writer and a driver.

The men were held for much than 7 months earlier making a melodramatic flight from a Taliban-controlled compound successful Pakistan’s tribal areas.

In April 2025, Najibullah pleaded blameworthy to providing worldly enactment for acts of coercion and conspiring to instrumentality hostages.

The bearded Najibullah, 50, who wore a achromatic skull headdress successful tribunal Tuesday, admitted that helium provided worldly enactment including weapons to the Taliban from 2007 to 2009, knowing it would beryllium utilized to termination U.S. soldiers successful Afghanistan.

Speaking done an interpreter, Najibullah apologized to Rohde and his family, saying “what happened to him was terrible, and I profoundly regret my relation successful it.”

Standing astatine a lectern conscionable feet from Najibullah, Rohde said it was Najibullah's lies that led him to spell to what helium thought was an interrogation but what turned into an ambush.

“Hostage taking is simply a cruel and cowardly crime. Family members walk weeks and months reasoning they person the powerfulness to prevention their loved one's life,” Rohde said, noting it's “an illusion” due to the fact that families deficiency the leverage and immense sums needed to conscionable ransom demands.

Still, Rohde said, the symptom helium and those who cognize him person suffered is dwarfed by the deaths of 3 U.S. soldiers who were killed by Najibullah's cohorts successful a abstracted operation.

Three times, helium named the soldiers arsenic helium spoke, becoming affectional astir their deaths, the symptom his household endured and his emotion for journalism.

In a connection afterward, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the lawsuit proves that “those who harm Americans and prosecute successful acts of coercion volition beryllium hunted down and brought to justice, nary substance however agelong it takes.”

As she announced the sentence, the justice praised Rohde for the enactment that helium and his woman person done connected behalf of the families of others who were kidnapped.

She said she stopped abbreviated of giving Najibullah the beingness situation condemnation that national sentencing guidelines called for due to the fact that helium had pleaded guilty, sparing much trauma for his victims, and due to the fact that helium was subjected to harsh situation conditions for six years, including during the pandemic.

But she rejected astir of the arguments for leniency made by his defence lawyer, who requested an 18-year situation word for his lawsuit arsenic helium portrayed him arsenic doing what was indispensable to support his homeland during war.

She said fighters nether his power attacked a convoy of soldiers, sidesplitting 3 of them.

“I don’t deliberation helium needed to propulsion the trigger, to decapitate a body, to beryllium liable for what happened,” Failla said.

Rohde called it the “biggest mistake of my life” to acceptable up an interrogation with Najibullah that resulted successful the kidnapping and said helium would not person done it if helium knew Najibullah was down the sidesplitting of American soldiers.

He noted during his connection successful tribunal that the hostage takers had claimed helium was a spy “when successful information I was a journalist” who was trying to get the viewpoint of a Taliban commandant “to recognize their hopes, their lives and their worldview.”

Then, helium repeated that helium remains “a writer and I could not beryllium prouder of being portion of this profession,” a connection that concisely caused him to get choked up.

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