US judge sentences former Taliban commander to 42 years

NEW YORK: A former Afghan Taliban commander convicted in the United States over the 2008 abduction of a journalist and attacks that killed American troops was sentenced on Tuesday to 42 years in prison.

Haji Najibullah, 50, had been accused by US prosecutors of kidnapping an American journalist identified as New York Times reporter David Rohde, along with two Afghan civilians. He was also charged in connection with the deaths of three US soldiers and an Afghan interpreter in a June 2008 assault carried out by forces under his command.

Najibullah was arrested in Ukraine and extradited to the United States in 2020. According to a Justice Department statement, he pleaded guilty last year to hostage taking and providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death.

"Those who harm Americans and engage in acts of terrorism will be hunted down and brought to justice, no matter how long it takes," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement.

Rohde was abducted in Afghanistan in November 2008 along with a translator and a driver. The New York Times had kept news of the kidnapping out of the public domain to avoid increasing the risk to him. According to the newspaper, Rohde escaped from captivity in June 2009.