|
 Dilkhayot Kasimov, 26, a Brooklyn resident and citizen of
Uzbekistan, was named in a revised indictment on Monday along with
three other previously charged New York residents. He will be
arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday.
The three other defendants - Akhror Saidakhmetov, Abdurasul
Hasanovich Juraboev and Abror Habibov - pleaded not guilty to the
conspiracy charges during a hearing in Brooklyn in March.
Prosecutors said two of the men planned to travel to Syria to fight
on behalf of the radical group.
The revised indictment charges that Kasimov, working closely with
Habibov, helped fund Saidakhmetov's efforts to join ISIS, collecting
$1,600 from multiple individuals.
Kasimov allegedly delivered the money to Saidakhmetov at John F.
Kennedy International Airport shortly before Saidakhmetov's arrest
while attempting to board a flight in February.
Kasimov was taken into custody in February on immigration charges
and has been held at a detention center in New Jersey, according to
the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's website.
Prosecutors say that Kasimov in electronic messages encouraged
others to participate in violent jihad, and made clear his role in
facilitating the travel of foreign fighters to Syria.
[to top of second column] |
"Money is the oxygen that fuels terrorism," said New York Police
Department Commissioner William J. Bratton, in a joint statement
with the U.S. Department of Justice.
"This investigation proves again that we will leave no stone
unturned to disrupt the finance, support, or membership in terrorist
organizations."
If convicted, Kasimov could face up to 30 years in prison. A lawyer
for Kasimov could not be immediately identified.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Writing by Mary Wisniewski
in Chicago; Editing by Michael Perry)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
