US Federal Court Sentences Former Taliban Commander to 42 Years

A US federal court has sentenced former Afghan Taliban commander Haji Najibullah to 42 years in prison for his role in the 2008 kidnapping of a New York Times journalist and the killing of American military personnel in Afghanistan.

Najibullah, 50, was charged by US prosecutors with the abduction of journalist David Rohde along with two Afghan civilians, as well as the deaths of three US soldiers and an Afghan interpreter in an attack carried out by forces under his command in June 2008. He was arrested in Ukraine and extradited to the United States in 2020. Last year, he pleaded guilty to hostage taking and providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, the Justice Department confirmed.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in the Justice Department’s announcement: “Those who harm Americans and engage in acts of terrorism will be hunted down and brought to justice, no matter how long it takes.”

David Rohde was abducted in Afghanistan in November 2008, together with a translator and a driver. The New York Times had deliberately withheld news of his kidnapping from the public to avoid placing him in further danger. Rohde ultimately managed to escape from his captors in June 2009, according to the Times.