December 02, 2008
AP "Hearts" American Taliban Johnny Jihad
The AP wants to get their grubby mitts on Johnny Jihads appeal.
NEW YORK American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh can keep his reasons for seeking a reduction in his 20-year sentence to himself, a federal appeals court said yesterday.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that a lower court judge last year correctly rejected a Freedom of Information Act request by The Associated Press.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court, ruling in AP v. U.S. Department of Justice, said the AP failed to show that releasing the contents of a petition seeking a sentence reduction would shed light on the workings of government.
The AP in January 2006 asked the Department of Justice for any petitions sent by Lindh, who was sentenced in 2002 after he pleaded guilty to various crimes in which he admitted aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The AP argued that Lindh’s reasoning for a shorter sentence should be public because of high public interest, the need for insight into the government’s handling of the case and the possibility of revelations of government misconduct.
AP - terrorist media.
