American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh will be released from prison next month after agreeing to strict restrictions on his Internet use, communications and travel.
Lindh, 38, will walk out of federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, a free man on May 23 after spending 17 years behind bars.
Lindh was among a group of Taliban fighters who were captured by US forces in November 2001, just months after the September 11 attacks and the beginning of the war in Afghanistan.
Former American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh (pictured in 2002) will be released from federal prison on May 23, after spending 17 years behind bars
Lindh is currently being held at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana (pictured)
Under the conditions of his release, the California native will not be allowed to own an Internet-capable device, such as a smartphone or a tablet, without permission from his probation officer.
Lindh also will not be permitted to watch any video content related to terrorism, and his probation officer will be able to keep tabs on his Internet use.
According to recent court filings obtained by NBC News, Judge T.S. Ellis III has barred Lindh from communicating with anyone online in any language other than English.
While on probation for the next three years, Lindh will be required to undergo mental health counseling and he won’t be allowed to travel outside the US without the court’s consent.
Lindh (pictured in an undated police photo) will remain on probation with special restrictions for three years
Lindh had previously opposed the restrictions, but ultimately accepted them after speaking to his defense lawyer.
If the 38-year-old initially complies with all the conditions, the special restrictions on him might be eased in the future.
Following Lindh’s capture in 2001, 500 people were killed after his fellow prisoners staged an uprising at a detention compound and killed a CIA operations officer Johnny Spann.
Judge Ellis wrote there was no evidence that Lindh took part in Spann’s killing.
Lindh, who was 20 years old at the time, was one of only 86 people who survived the revolt.
He was named ‘Detainee 001 in the war of terror’ and, in 2002, was convicted of supporting the Taliban and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
In 2016, the National Counterterrorism Center found that Lindh was continuing to ‘advocate for global jihad’, according to documents obtained by Foreign Policy.
He was also continuing to ‘write and translate violent extremist texts’, it added.
The document also claims that in 2015 Lindh told a television news producer ‘that he would continue to spread violent extremist Islam upon his release’.
During his sentence, Lindh filed two suits against the Bureau of Prisons so that he could continue practicing the tenets of Islam.
In 2013, Lindh won the right for communal prayer. The following year, he argued that he should be allowed to wear his pants above the ankle.
Lindh dropped out of high school at 17 and went to Yemen to learn Arabic with the support of his parents in 1998.
Lindh was among a group of Taliban fighters who were captured by US forces in November 2001, just months after the September 11 attacks and the beginning of the war in Afghanistan. He is pictured here being led to a prison by a Northern Alliance soldier following his capture
Hours later, 500 people were killed after Lindh’s fellow prisoners staged an uprising and killed a CIA operations officer. He is pictured here being treated in a hospital after his capture
Lindh (pictured after his capture during a television interview) was named ‘Detainee 001 in the war of terror’ and, in 2002, was convicted of supporting the Taliban and sentenced to 20 years in prison
He then traveled to Pakistan and joined forces with a group that was fighting to help Kashmir gain independence from India.
Lindh eventually ended up in Afghanistan and spent seven weeks at a training camp to prepare Taliban fighters. Al Qaeda volunteers also attended the camp to undergo training for terrorist attacks.
It was there that Lindh met 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, who thanked him for his participation in the group, he later told FBI investigators during his interrogation.
Lindh’s parents, who had lost touch with him after he went to Afghanistan, only discovered where he was after CNN interviewed him following his capture.
Lindh (pictured in an undated family photo) went to the Middle East in 1998. He dropped out of school at 17 and heading to Yemen to learn Arabic
A picture of Lindh seen on a facsimile of his passport at the Arabia Hassani Kalan Surani Bannu madrassa (Islamic school) in Bannu, Pakistan in 2002
It was in prison that Lindh applied for Irish citizenship, and he has since confirmed that he plans to move there following his release.
When he was applying for citizenship, Lindh said he would explain to the Irish government how his ‘unique circumstances’ would make ‘survival in the US practically impossible’.
‘Essentially I am seeking asylum from one country where I am a citizen in another country where I am also a citizen,’ he told the London advocacy-group CAGE.
Ireland’s government has already said that Lindh would not be refused entry to the country.