Army officials announced Wednesday that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was charged with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy.

Bergdahl faces life imprisonment if convicted of the charges, which were announced by the service at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

"We ask that all Americans continue to withhold judgment until the facts of the case emerge," the Bergdahl's attorneys said in a statement. "We also ask that government officials refrain from leaking information or engaging in other conduct that endangers our client's right to a fair trial."

Bergdahl was held in Afghanistan by the Taliban after he walked away from his post in June 2009.

The 28-year-old, who was a private first class when he was captured, e-mailed his parents days before his desertion expressing disillusionment with America, the War on Terror, and his military service. He was returned to US custody on May 31, 2014 in exchange for the controversial release of five senior Taliban leaders from Guantanamo Bay. The men will be held in Qatar until at least May 2015 before being allowed to go back to Afghanistan.

Bergdahl's hearing will be held at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas, where he has been stationed since his release from captivity. His attorneys have asked for leniency in light of his reported harsh treatment by the militants over his five-year imprisonment.

"I was kept in constant isolation during the entire 5 years, with little to no understanding of time, through constant periods of constant darkness, periods of constant light, and periods of completely random flickering of light," Bergdahl wrote in a letter to Gen. Mark A. Milley, the commanding general of US Army Forces Command. Milley authorised the charges against the sergeant.

The desertion charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, along with possible losses of pay, rank, and allowances. Misbehaving before the enemy can incur life imprisonment, a dishonourable discharge, and total losses of pay and allowances.