2 days ago
Haji Najibullah appeared unbothered arsenic he walked into Manhattan national tribunal earlier this week to study whether he would look life down bars for his domiciled successful sadistic unit during his clip arsenic a Taliban commandant – including nan 2008 kidnapping of US journalist David Rohde.
Najibullah, who walked into nan courtroom successful shackles astatine astir 9.50am Monday, sporting khaki jailhouse garb and a achromatic skullcap, could moreover beryllium seen grinning astatine various points earlier proceedings started.
When nan erstwhile New York Times newsman Rohde entered nan courtroom astir 10 minutes later, a female companion took statement of Najibullah’s demeanor. “He smiled,” she could beryllium heard whispering. “How situation he smile.”
“He lied to america and he is lying today,” Rohde said arsenic he stood astatine nan lectern during Najibullah’s sentencing. “He is refusing to return work for his actions arsenic I look astatine him correct now.”
The courtroom showdown betwixt Rohde and his one-time captor past week brought to an extremity a years-long saga that began pinch a planned question and reply that turned into a kidnapping, past months of detention earlier a daring flight and yet nan seizure and proceedings of Najibullah.
Najibullah was charged for his domiciled successful capturing Rohde and 2 Afghan associates and holding them hostage for immoderate 7 months. Najibullah was besides charged pinch his activity of Taliban militants who attacked US work members, starring to their deaths. Najibullah pleaded guilty connected 25 April 2025 to hostage taking and providing worldly support for acts of coercion resulting successful death.
Rohde said Najibullah, who had antecedently spoken to media without incident, agreed to an interview. In a telephone telephone soon earlier nan planned sit-down, Najibullah past changed nan gathering place. When nan group showed up, nan roadworthy was “blocked” and Najibullah’s men drove them to an undisclosed location successful Afghanistan earlier taking them to Pakistan.
In nan months that followed, Rohde was forced astatine gunpoint to make ransom videos that terrorized his “grieving” family, prosecutors said. Under changeless fearfulness of death, Rohde had to present nan chilling lines demanded of him, specified as: “If you don’t thief me, I will die.”
Rohde apologized to his family during his reside to nan court. “It was a immense correction to spell to nan interview,” he said, breaking into tears. “I will ever regret it.”
“Hostage-taking is simply a sadistic and cowardly crime,” Rohde said astatine 1 point, pinch Najibullah mostly looking stone-faced during his statement.
Rohde, his translator, and driver near Kabul for nan planned question and reply astatine astir 7am connected 10 November 2008. He near a missive astatine nan Times’s Kabul bureau that read: “If I get kidnapped don’t publicize it. That will beryllium easier for [my wife] + my family.”
He besides near down a statement for his woman telling her to usage money from his book beforehand for ransom, writing: “This is my responsibility. I emotion you truthful overmuch and americium judge this will beryllium OK. Please spell and beryllium happy and move guardant if things spell very wrong.”
The missive chillingly foreshadowed months of what prosecutors described arsenic “psychological torture”.
When they arrived astatine nan gathering point, nan translator called Najibullah who told them location was US subject activity nearby, directing them to different location. There, instrumentality gun-toting Taliban militants restrained and blindfolded them, transporting them to a house.
There, Najibullah utilized 1 of their mobile phones to telephone nan newspaper’s Kabul outpost and told a staffer he was holding them captive because they were spies for conjugation forces, prosecutors said.
Najibullah and his accomplices tried wielding their captivity arsenic a instrumentality to extract ransom payments and unit nan merchandise of Taliban prisoners. Rohde and nan different 2 hostages complied pinch Najibullah’s orders, fearing decease aliases maltreatment if they refused, prosecutors said.
The men were shuttled betwixt safe houses wherever they were forced to navigator and clean. Rohde did immoderate he could to get them released. He and different hostage “staged a hunger strike.” He pretended to beryllium sick. At 1 point, he moreover faked a termination attempt.
In June 2009, Rohde yet had a existent chance. While cleaning, Rohde happened upon a car tow rope. He secreted nan cord nether a heap of clothes, prosecutors said. Rohde and his translator decided to effort escaping pinch nan rope.
On 9 June 2009, Rhode and his translator went to nan tile erstwhile nan guards were asleep. They utilized this statement to standard nan compound wall and fled to a adjacent Pakistani subject outpost.
The guards fto them successful and they were brought to US authorities. Rohde, who pinch his woman wrote astir this ordeal successful nan book A Rope and a Prayer: A Kidnapping from Two Sides, reunited pinch his family.
This harrowing saga came to a adjacent pinch Najibullah’s sentencing. Najibullah’s defense asked Judge Katherine Polk Failla for an 18-year sentence; prosecutors pushed for life imprisonment, citing nan “unimaginable pain” he caused victims.
Najibullah’s lawyer Andrew Dalack told Failla his customer was calved successful Afghanistan and raised during nan sadistic Russian occupation. He tried escaping consequent Taliban norm successful Saudi Arabia, but was incapable to enactment aft nan US started warfare successful Afghanistan, Dalack said.
Najibullah “had to take a side” upon his return and joining nan Taliban “felt for illustration it was nan only decision” he could make. Dalack insisted Najibullah was a “low-level” commandant who is now “an force to nan Taliban”.
“They killed his brother,” Dalack said. At various points during Dalack’s transportation for leniency, Najibullah could beryllium seen rubbing his beard.
When it came clip for Najibullah to speak, he apologized but, for illustration Dalack, invoked context.
Najibullah, done a Pashto translator, said he “deeply” regretted his domiciled successful Rohde’s kidnapping while telling nan judge that his engagement “brought unspeakable consequences” to his family, saying nan Taliban “martyred” his relative because of Rohde’s escape.
He besides criticized nan US’s beingness successful Afghanistan, saying soldiers were sacrificed by “the bad policies made by powerful men successful American activity and Taliban leadership”.
When it came clip for Failla to enforce Najibullah’s sentence, Failla told Najibullah to rise.
As she handed down a 42-year sentence, Najibullah kept his hands successful beforehand of him. Rohde looked connected from nan gallery.
“Mr Najibullah, do you understand that is your sentence?” Failla asked.
“Yes, I understand,” Najibullah said.
