Lawyer: “absurd” to blame an Afghan in US war deaths

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Lawyer for Afghan commander awaiting trial in Manhattan federal court says it is absurd to charge his client with the murder of three US soldiers

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

15 October 2021, 18:51

3 minutes to read

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NEW YORK – The lawyer for an Afghan awaiting trial in Manhattan federal court for ordering the Taliban fighters responsible for the murder of three American soldiers said on Friday it was absurd “to charge his client with deaths in a war the United States began.

Lawyer Mark Gombiner spoke at a preliminary hearing after his client, Haji Najibullah, pleaded not guilty to the charges against him in a rewritten indictment issued against him last week.

Najibullah had previously been charged with the armed kidnapping of a New York Times reporter and another reporter in 2008. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment.

But the new indictment accused him of commanding the Taliban fighters responsible for a deadly ambush against the three servicemen in Afghanistan in 2008.

The attack killed Matthew L. Hilton, of Livonia, Michigan; Joseph A. McKay, of Brooklyn, and Mark Palmateer, of Poughkeepsie, New York. Najibullah was also accused of playing a role in the crash of a US military helicopter later in the same year.

Gombiner said the evidence would show the claims are not true.

The lawyer said the deaths of American soldiers were a huge tragedy. “

No one disputes it, ”Gombiner said.

But he said it was absurd “for his client to be held responsible for the murder in an American courtroom for the deaths of American soldiers fighting in a war started by the United States.”

US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla interrupted Gombiner, accusing him of launching a massive public relations campaign. “

She added: I want you to talk to me and not to the press. “

The lawyer, however, said prosecutors were to blame for making the charges public through a press release that circulated around the world.

Deputy U.S. Attorney David Denton told the judge that Gombiner was raising arguments that had been raised and rejected before, especially when it came to the Taliban. “

Najibullah, 45, was extradited to the United States last year on charges of hostage-taking, conspiracy and kidnapping.

The original indictment accused him of orchestrating the kidnapping of David Rohde, then working for the New York Times, and Afghan journalist Tahir Ludin, while they were on their way to interview a Taliban leader.

The pair made a spectacular escape from a Taliban-controlled compound in Pakistan’s tribal areas more than seven months after their November 10 kidnapping, 2008. Their driver, Asadullah Mangal, was a third kidnapping victim. He escapes a few weeks after Ludin and Rohde.

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