This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A man accused of demonstrating in Utah how people could make a weapon of mass destruction has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in Idaho for conspiracy to provide support to a terrorist organization and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
Fazliddin Kurbanov, a 33-year-old Uzbek national who was convicted in August after a 20-day trial, also was fined $250,000 and will face deportation proceedings once he gets out of prison. The sentence was meted out Thursday by Judge Edward J. Lodge in U.S. District Court in Boise.
Now that the Idaho case has concluded, the Utah prosecution against Kurbanov is expected to move forward.
Prosecutors said Kurbanov — a Boise resident who was indicted on May 16, 2013, by federal grand juries in Utah and Idaho — communicated by email and Skype with the operator or operators of a website for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which is designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
During these discussions, Kurbanov talked about his animosity toward Americans, particularly military members, according to evidence presented at his trial. In addition, he discussed his desire to build a bomb and possible targets in the United States, including military bases in Idaho and Texas.
The Utah indictment alleges that in January 2013, Kurbanov showed Internet videos, provided written recipes and conducted "instructional shopping trips" to show how to build improvised explosive devices to be used in bombing of public places.
According to a Department of Justice news release, Kurbanov's activities were monitored by federal agents during the investigation and no terrorist attack occurred.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC