American captured with Taliban appears in US court

John Walker Lindh, the 20-year-old American citizen accused of fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan and aiding the al-Qa'ida terror network of Osama bin Laden, appeared in court in Virginia yesterday and was ordered to be held without bond.

Gone was the long matted hair and shaggy beard Mr Walker was wearing when he was first found in a prison in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif in early December after an uprising by inmates. Looking quite different, he came to the United States clean-shaven and with a close buzz-cut after a long-awaited transfer to American soil under intense security and secrecy. Shortly before the court hearing, Mr Walker was visited by his mother and father at the federal detention facility in Alexandria, Virginia, where he is being held. That was the first time they had seen their son since he left the United States, originally for Yemen, in December 1999 to study Islam and Arabic.

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse later, Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh said their son – who converted to Islam when he was a teenager and goes by the name John Walker, although court documents refer to him as John Walker Lindh – appeared to be in good health. Their faces drawn tight with anxiety, they also insisted that he was innocent of the charges against him.

"John loves America. We love America," Frank Lindh said after the hearing. "John did not do anything against America."

Marilyn said: "It's been two years since I last saw my son. It was wonderful to see him this morning. My love for him is unconditional and absolute. I am grateful that he has been brought home to his family, me, his home and his country."

Judge Curtis Sewell read a summary of the charges to Mr Walker in court. Asked afterwards whether he understood them, Mr Walker replied quietly: "Yes, I do, thank you." The judge also explained that he might be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

There was controversy over the failure of the US government to provide Mr Walker with a defence lawyer from the moment he was first apprehended by troops on 2 December. He was interrogated for about 45 days by FBI agents in Afghanistan and on board a US ship in the Gulf.

John Ashcroft, the Attorney General, insisted that Mr Walker "chose to waive his right to an attorney both orally and in writing" during his first sessions with the FBI.

But the lawyer defending Mr Walker made clear that he intended to make the conditions under which his client was interrogated an issue in court. James Brosnahan said his client had "asked for a lawyer, repeatedly asked for a lawyer" from early December on, "and the officials who have commented on this case knew that".

In a press conference, Mr Ashcroft was uncompromising in his depiction of Mr Walker's alleged crimes committed after his departure from America. "At each of the crossroads, Walker faced a choice and at each choice he chose to ally himself with terrorists. Walker chose to fight on the front on the line with America's enemies," Mr Ashcroft said.

Mr Walker is accused of engaging in a conspiracy to kill Americans; providing material support and resources to foreign terrorist groups, including al-Qa'ida; engaging in prohibited transactions with the Taliban; and providing goods and services to aid the Taliban.

The Alexandria detention centre is a couple of miles from the Pentagon, one of the targets struck on 11 September. Also in a cell at the centre is Zacarias Moussaoui, a French national who will stand trial this year accused of being a co-conspirator in the 11 September attacks. There is a possibility Mr Walker and Mr Moussaoui will face trial at roughly the same time this autumn.