Overview
- A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday, June 9, sentenced Haji Najibullah to 42 years in prison and five years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty in April 2025 to hostage-taking and providing material support for terrorism resulting in death.
- Prosecutors tied Najibullah to the November 2008 abduction of journalist David Rohde and two Afghan colleagues who were held for about seven months and forced to make ransom calls and proof-of-life videos while guarded at gunpoint.
- The government also linked fighters under Najibullah’s command to a June 26, 2008 ambush in Wardak Province that killed three U.S. soldiers and an Afghan interpreter, a claim that shaped the prosecutors’ push for a life term.
- David Rohde confronted Najibullah at the June 9 hearing, saying the commander refused to accept responsibility, while DOJ and FBI officials praised international cooperation that led to Najibullah’s 2020 arrest in Ukraine and transfer to U.S. custody.
- Legal experts say the case shows how federal terrorism and hostage statutes can reach battlefield actors years after crimes, and it delivers a form of accountability for victims and families affected by long‑running insurgent violence.