American Taliban fighter faces civilian custody

The American captured with Taliban fighters is being held by Marines in Afghanistan and will be handed over to US civilian authorities as soon as possible, the Pentagon has said.

How John Walker’s case will be handled has not been decided, spokesman Rear Adm Craig Quigley said. Lawyers from the departments of Defence and Justice are ‘‘working on the way ahead on that’’, he said from the war’s command centre in Tampa, Florida.

Walker was being held at Camp Rhino, the base for some 1,300 Marines helping in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Quigley said.

While held and interrogated by US forces, Walker has provided some useful intelligence information, another official said. ‘‘And that has been very helpful,’’ Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said.

The timing of the transfer and exactly where Walker would go were not clear.

In the meantime, Walker was ‘‘being treated in a manner consistent with protections provided enemy prisoners of war under the Third Geneva Convention’’, said a statement by US Central Command.

In San Francisco, James Brosnahan, lawyer for Walker’s parents, declined to comment.

The Justice Department has said Americans who have fought for the Taliban or al Qaida could face treason, murder, conspiracy or other charges. The issue surfaced after the government said three people claiming to be Americans might have been fighting for the Taliban. The two others were later determined not to be American, though they spoke English, Quigley said.

Federal officials have limited their comments about Walker, 20, who gave his name as Abdul Hamid after being caught in a fortress near the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

Attorney General John Ashcroft told a Senate committee last week that he would not comment on any legal actions to be taken against Walker. But he warned, ‘‘History has not looked kindly upon those who have forsaken their countries to go and fight against their countries.’’

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declined to comment last week when asked if he considered Walker a traitor.

Walker is the only person - either Afghan or any other nationality - being held by Americans in the Afghan campaign, though rebel forces have custody of some 5,000 to 6,000 militiamen, a senior US defence official said.

A videotape aired Friday by ABC apparently showed CIA officers interrogating Walker on November 25 shortly before a prison uprising at the fortress.

A silent, despondent-looking Walker sat in a dusty clearing with his hands tied behind his back. His clothing was tattered and dirty; his hair hid his face. His interrogators were Johnny ‘‘Mike’’ Spann, who was later killed in the uprising, and an agent known only as Dave.

‘‘Who brought you here?’’ Dave asked repeatedly. ‘‘Hello? Wake up!’’ Walker did not respond.

Shortly after the interrogation, other prisoners emerged from parts of the fortress and launched the uprising.

Walker’s parents have described him as an introvert and pacifist who converted to Islam when he was 16. He studied in Yemen and Pakistan, but his parents lost contact with him about six months ago.

On Friday, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker said they were ‘‘desperately worried’’ about their son.

They also said the government had not given them any word about his condition or whereabouts.