Ex-Taliban leader pleads guilty in kidnapping of American journalist
A former Taliban leader charged with kidnapping an American journalist and orchestrating the killings of three U.S. soldiers pleaded guilty Friday to hostage taking and providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, authorities said.
Haji Najibullah, 49, faces potential sentences of life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled on Oct. 23.
Najibullah was extradited to New York in 2020 to face charges of kidnapping journalist David Rohde and a pair of Afghan men in 2008. He also faced charges in a 2008 attack on a military convoy that killed three soldiers and their Afghan interpreter.
While Najibullah had previously pleaded not guilty, a change of plea hearing was added to the court docket Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
According to the plea agreement signed by Najibullah, he acknowledged working as a Taliban commander in Afghanistan's Wardak Province. Najibullah also admitted to providing material support for acts of terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, support that led to American service members being killed, the agreement said.
'His vicious acts of terrorism included taking hostage multiple civilians and providing material support for attacks that resulted in the deaths of brave Americans,' Jay Clayton, the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement after the hearing. 'Najibullah committed his crimes in Afghanistan over 15 years ago, and now faces justice in an American courtroom.'
Rohde was kidnapped in November 2008 while in Afghanistan reporting for a book. He was held for seven months. Rohde later recounted his captivity and escape in vivid, harrowing detail, writing about how his 'daily focus simply became survival' and his 'memories of the world I had known began to fade.'
Rohde said he attended Friday's hearing with his wife.
'I am pleased that he admitted his guilt today and grateful to all the U.S. officials who brought him to justice,' Rohde said in a statement afterward. 'Most of all, my heart goes out to the families of the three U.S. soldiers and the Afghan translator who were killed.'
Court filings and federal officials described Najibullah as a Taliban leader who oversaw more than 1,000 fighters and reported to the group's senior leadership.
His 2021 indictment in New York said Taliban fighters under his command attacked a convoy in June 2008, killing three Army personnel identified as Sgts. 1st Class Matthew L. Hilton and Joseph A. McKay and Sgt. Mark Palmateer.
In October of the same year, the indictment continued, fighters Najibullah oversaw also shot down an American helicopter. While the Taliban said everyone on board was killed, no troops died in that attack, the indictment said. The indictment said that only days later, Najibullah caused Rohde and two Afghan men working with him to be captured.
Najibullah was arrested in Ukraine in 2020 and extradited to New York to face charges related to Rohde's kidnapping. He had been indicted in 2014, but it was unsealed after his arrest.
Shayna Jacobs in New York contributed to this report.
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