The Department of Justice announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging Haji Najibullah, a\/k\/a \u201cNajibullah Naim,\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cAbu Tayeb,\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cAtiqullah\u201d with six counts related to the 2008 kidnapping of an American journalist and two Afghan nationals. Najibullah, 44, was arrested and transferred to the United States from Ukraine to face the charges in the indictment.<\/p>\n
\u201cNajibullah is charged with taking an American journalist and others hostage in Afghanistan in November 2008. Journalists risk their lives bringing us news from conflict zones, and no matter how much time may pass, our resolve to find and hold accountable those who target and harm them and other Americans will never wane,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. \u201cThe defendant, like many others before and surely others to come, will now face justice in an American courtroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: \u201cNearly 12 years ago, the defendant arranged to kidnap at gunpoint an American journalist and two other men, and held them hostage for more than seven months,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss. \u201cThe prosecution of Haji Najibullah shows that law enforcement will never stop in our mission to hold accountable those who commit violent crimes against American citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether someone commits a violent act against an American citizen here at home or overseas, we\u2019ll never stop aggressively pursuing charges against them and, when necessary, seeking their transfer to U.S. custody,\u201d said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the FBI William F. Sweeney Jr. \u201cNajibullah\u2019s reprehensible actions over a decade ago earned him a flight to the U.S. yesterday. Today he arrived in U.S. federal court to face our justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FBI, along with our partners, continue to work tirelessly in the pursuit of justice and to hold accountable those who are responsible for the kidnapping and hostage taking of U.S. citizens abroad,\u201d said Assistant Director Jill Sanborn of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. \u201cWe remain steadfast in our obligation to see justice served, regardless of the how long it may take or where those individuals are located. This investigation and resulting indictment reflects the FBI\u2019s perseverance and commitment to the victims of these heinous acts \u2013 We never forget, and we never give up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHaji Najibullah\u2019s alleged kidnapping of a United States journalist and two Afghan nationals was a crime against America, a crime against the freedom of the press, and against the integral work of shining a light on important international affairs,\u201d said Police Commissioner Shea. \u201cWhile today\u2019s federal indictment reflects events that occurred a dozen years ago, it shows once again that the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force and all of our law enforcement partners will wait as long and go as far as it takes to bring justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Indictment:<\/p>\n
On or about Nov. 10, 2008, Najibullah and his co-conspirators, armed with machineguns, kidnapped American journalist David Rohde, then a reporter for The New York Times now with The New Yorker, and two Afghan nationals who were assisting Rohde at gunpoint in Afghanistan. Approximately five days later, on or about Nov. 15, 2008, Najibullah and his co-conspirators forced the three hostages to hike across the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan, where Najibullah and his co-conspirators detained the hostages. For the next seven months, Najibullah and his co-conspirators held the hostages captive in Pakistan.<\/p>\n
During their captivity, Najibullah and his co-conspirators forced the victims to make numerous calls and videos seeking help. For example, on or about Nov. 19, 2008, while in Pakistan, Najibullah and a co-conspirator (CC-1) directed Rohde to call his wife in New York. In addition, Najibullah and his co-conspirators made the victims create at least three videos in which they begged for help while surrounded by masked guards armed with machineguns. In one of the videos, Rohde was forced to beg for his life while a guard pointed a machinegun at his face.<\/p>\n