Afghan Extradited To US From Ukraine Over Journalist Abduction - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) An Afghan citizen charged with kidnapping an American journalist in 2008 faces trial on a six-count indictment after being arrested and flown to the United States, the Justice Department said in a press release on Wednesday.

"The Department of Justice announced the unsealing of a Federal indictment charging Haji Najibullah... 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," the release said.

About 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 they were held hostage and forced to appear in at least three videos, including one in which the American journalist was forced to beg for his life with a machine gun pointed at his face, the release added.

Each of the six counts of the indictment carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to the release.