(VOA) John Walker Lindh, the former jihadi dubbed the “American Taliban,” was released from prison Thursday after completing 17 years of a 20-year sentence for supporting the Afghan insurgent group.
The first American detainee in the U.S. war on terror, Lindh, now 38, was captured in late 2001 while fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was later taken back to the U.S., where he pleaded guilty to two terrorism-related charges.
The Californian is among at least 427 individuals who have been charged with jihadi terrorism or related crimes since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to the think tank New America. Nearly a hundred have been freed, with up to 90 more approaching the end of their prison terms in the next five years, said Jesse Morton, a convicted ex-jihadi who runs Parallel Networks, a group that works with former extremists.
