A former Taliban commander, Haji "Najib" Najibullah, was sentenced to 42 years in prison by a Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday for his role in the 2008 kidnapping of New York Times journalist David Rohde and two Afghan nationals, as well as for providing support to fighters who killed three U.S. servicemembers.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who described the kidnapping as "extraordinary in its casual brutality" and dehumanization. Rohde, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and his companions were held captive for seven months before escaping from a compound in Pakistan's tribal districts.
The judge also held Najibullah culpable for a fatal attack on a U.S. military convoy in 2008, even though he was not directly involved, because he commanded some of the Taliban fighters who carried out the assault.
The attack killed Sgts. First Class Matthew L.
Hilton and Joseph A. McKay, Sgt.
Mark Palmateer, and their 21-year-old Afghan interpreter, Muhammad Fahim. Assistant District Attorney Sam Adelsberg noted that at least one victim's body was mutilated in the "notably vicious" attack.
During the sentencing hearing, Rohde spoke emotionally, saying Najibullah continued to shirk responsibility and lied throughout his captivity. "The one constant was his lies.
He lied to get us to interview. Lied to us throughout our kidnapping," Rohde said.
He described the pursuit of the story as his life's greatest regret. Najibullah, 50, was extradited to the U.S.
in 2020 after his arrest in Ukraine. The judge did not impose the life sentence requested by prosecutors, citing Najibullah's difficult upbringing in war-torn Afghanistan, his family's experiences under the Taliban, and harsh prison conditions.
Najibullah apologized to Rohde and his family but deflected responsibility for the deaths of the U.S. servicemembers, blaming "bad policies made by powerful men in American leadership and Taliban leadership." He also complained about cruel treatment by U.S.
prison guards, saying they insulted his religion and humiliated him with strip searches.