Lindh surrendered on November 24, 2001, to
Afghan Northern Alliance forces after his Al Qaeda foreign fighters unit surrendered at
Kunduz after retreating from Takar. Lindh, who had a grandmother from
County Donegal, had told other prisoners he was Irish. While being interviewed by the CIA, he did not reveal that he was American. Moments later, around 11 am, the makeshift prison was the scene of a violent uprising, which became known as the
Battle of Qala-i-Jangi. Spann and hundreds of foreign fighters were killed; only 86 prisoners survived. According to other detainees interviewed by journalist
Robert Young Pelton for
CNN, Lindh was fully aware of the planned uprising, yet remained silent and did not cooperate with the Americans. Sometime during the initial uprising, Lindh was shot or hit by
shrapnel in the right upper thigh and found refuge in a basement, hiding with the rest of the detainees. On the second day, the
Red Cross sent in workers to collect the dead. As soon as they entered, the workers were shot by the prisoners, who killed one. The Northern Alliance repeatedly bombarded the area with
RPGs and grenade attacks, and burning fuel poured in. Lindh and about 85 survivors from the original 300–500 were forced out of hiding. Northern Alliance soldiers bound Lindh's elbows behind his back. Shortly after his recapture, Lindh was noticed and interviewed by
Robert Pelton, who was working as a
stringer for
CNN. Lindh initially gave his name as "Abd-al-Hamid" but later gave his birth name. Pelton brought a medic and food for Lindh and interviewed him about how he got there. During the interview, Lindh said that he was a member of al-Ansar, a group of Arabic-speaking fighters financed by
Osama bin Laden. Lindh said that the prison uprising was sparked by some of the prisoners smuggling grenades into the basement: "This is against what we had agreed upon with the Northern Alliance, and this is against Islam. It is a major sin to break a contract, especially in military situations". A
U.S. Army Special Forces operator, fresh from three weeks of combat, gave up his bed so that the wounded Lindh could sleep there. After capture, Lindh was given basic first aid and questioned for a week at Mazār-e Sharīf. He was taken to
Camp Rhino on December 7, 2001, the bullet or piece of shrapnel still within his thigh. When Lindh arrived at Camp Rhino, he was stripped and restrained on a stretcher, blindfolded and placed in a metal shipping container, which was procedure for dealing with a potentially dangerous detainee associated with a terrorist organization. On the day he left the Turkish School, he was photographed with the words "Shit Head" written onto duct tape on his blindfold by
Green Berets posing for a "team photo" with their captive. The Green Berets, from 592, were later investigated. While bound to the stretcher at Camp Rhino, Lindh was photographed by some American military personnel. At Camp Rhino, he was given
oxycodone/paracetamol for pain and
diazepam. He was held at Camp Rhino until he was transferred to the on December 14, 2001, with other wounded detainees, where his wound was operated on and he received further care. He was interrogated before the operation on December 14. While on the
Peleliu, he signed confession documents while in the custody of the
United States Marine Corps. On December 31, 2001, Lindh was transferred to the
USS Bataan, where he was held until January 22, 2002. He was flown back to the United States to face criminal charges. On January 16, 2002, Attorney General
John Ashcroft announced that Lindh would be tried in the United States. In 2002, former President
George H. W. Bush referred to Lindh as "some misguided
Marin County hot-tubber". The comment, in which Bush also mispronounced the county's name, provoked a minor furor and prompted a retraction of the statement by Bush. Lindh's attorneys told the press that his client had asked for a lawyer repeatedly before being interviewed by the FBI, but did not get one, and that "highly
coercive" prison conditions forced Lindh to waive his
right to remain silent. Although the FBI asked
Jesselyn Radack, a
Justice Department ethics adviser, whether Lindh could be questioned without a lawyer present, they did not follow her advice to avoid that scenario. ==Trial and sentencing==