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Utah gears up to prosecute man on terrorism-related charges

Posted at 5:49 PM, Aug 13, 2015
and last updated 2015-08-13 23:29:48-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- A federal jury in Idaho convicted a man on terrorism-related charges. Now, federal prosecutors in Utah are gearing up to try him.

Fazliddin Kurbanov, 33, was convicted on Wednesday in Boise, Idaho on three charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and possession of an unregistered destructive device. The jury found Kurbanov not guilty on two other charges.

kurbanov

Kurbanov was accused of stockpiling explosive materials at his Boise apartment and communicating with members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a group linked to the Taliban. In Utah, Karbanov is accused of distribution of information relating to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction.

"This Mr. Kurbanov visited Utah a couple of years ago for ten days," U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber said in a recent interview with FOX 13.

According to an unsealed grand jury indictment, Kurbanov is accused of teaching someone how to build an improvised explosive device.

Read the grand jury indictment here:

"He taught another person in Utah to build a bomb with the intent to use the bomb," Huber said, refusing to say who Kurbanov is accused of teaching or what they allege would have been done with the explosive device.

No one else has been charged in connection with the case, federal prosecutors confirmed to FOX 13. Kurbanov's defense attorney declined to comment on Thursday, citing the pending case.

Kurbanov is not scheduled to make his first appearance in a federal court in Utah until after he is sentenced in Idaho in November. He faces up to 40 years in federal prison in that case.