Q&A: What next for US Taleban suspect?

As terror suspect John Walker Lindh appears in court for the first time in the United States, BBC News Online looks at the case surrounding the man dubbed the 'American Taleban'.

What are the charges against John Walker Lindh?

Mr Walker, who goes by his mother's name, is accused of four charges: conspiring to kill Americans in Afghanistan; providing support to foreign terrorist organisations; engaging in prohibited transactions with the Taleban; and providing goods and services benefiting the Taleban.

What punishment could he face?

If he is convicted on the conspiracy charge, Mr Walker faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The US Attorney General, John Ashcroft, has said Mr Walker might yet be charged with more offences, including treason, which carries a penalty of death.

Why is Mr Walker the only terror suspect to be brought to the US?

The US has detained scores of al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters since it began its military campaign in Afghanistan in October, 2001.

It is holding 243 prisoners at a military base at Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan, and 158 suspects at a naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

As the only American citizen to have been captured fighting for the enemy, John Walker Lindh is a special case.

He was caught by Northern Alliance forces in November and held on board the USS Bataan warship in the Arabian sea while the American Government decided what to do with him.

President George W Bush said that because of his US citizenship, Mr Walker should be tried in a regular civilian court rather than by the military tribunal proposed for non-US terrorist suspects.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has insisted that Mr Walker will not be treated any differently to the other captives held abroad.

Who is representing Mr Walker?

Chief prosecutor Paul McNulty has said Mr Walker is receiving the same rights as any other defendant, including the right to appoint a lawyer.

The Attorney General said Mr Walker waived his right to a lawyer before being questioned by the FBI on board the naval ship.

Mr Walker's mother and father have since hired George Harris and James Brosnahan - two Californian lawyers - to represent their son, a move welcomed by Mr Walker in a letter to his parents.

A former lawyer for the Eastern District of Virginia, Bill Cummings, has also joined the defence team.

What happens to Mr Walker next?

Following the 13-minute hearing at Alexandria courthouse in Virginia at which the charges were put to Mr Walker, Judge Curtis Sewell denied Mr Walker bail and ordered that he be held until 6 February, when he will face a further hearing.

Mr Walker is likely to enter a plea on his next appearance in court, when the conditions of his detention will also be determined.