Muslim Refugee Kurbanov Convicted of Terrorism in Idaho Sentenced to 25 Years
Fazliddin Kurbanov was sentenced on January 7, 2016 to 25 years in Federal prison. This followed a conviction in August 2015 of conspiracy, attempting to support a terrorist organization and possession of bomb-making components. The sentence includes three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He also faces deportation at the end of his prison sentence.
Prosecutors say the 33-year-old Russian-speaking truck driver who fled Uzbekistan in 2009 downloaded jihadist and martyrdom videos from a terrorist website.
Authorities say he had an unwavering commitment to kill personnel at a military base or civilians at crowded Fourth of July celebrations in downtown Boise, Idaho.
Additionally, prosecutors said Kurbanov communicated with a known terrorist organization, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan is a 90% Muslim country that was formerly part of the Soviet Union. They declared it’s independence in 1991, after the Soviet Union broke up.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group whose original objective included creating an Islamic state under Sharia law. In recent years they have remade themselves as an ally of AL-Qaeda and the Taliban.
According to evidence presented in the trial, Kurbanov possessed bomb-making components at his Boise apartment, including a hollow hand grenade, a hobby fuse, ammunition containing smokeless powder, tannerite, aluminum powder, potassium nitrate, charcoal, yellow sulfur powder and fertilizer. Prosecutors said Kurbanov purchased the items during the summer and fall of 2012.
Kurbanov maintained his innocence and told the court he wasn’t a terrorist.
But U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge in handing down the sentence said Kurbanov planned to commit jihad against the United States.
“The lengthy term of imprisonment imposed by the Court ensures that this defendant, who by his words and acts was intent on taking American lives, does not and will not pose any further threat to the safety and security of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson in a statement after the sentencing.
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