An inmate already sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for aiding a terrorist organization was handed an additional 20-year sentence on Monday, Aug. 13 after attempting to murder his prison’s warden in Victorville in May 2016.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said that during Monday’s hearing, the inmate told court attendees via an interpreter that he was not sorry for his actions and that his victim was supposed to die. He “expressed extreme animosity toward the United States,” prosecutors said in a statement.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips imposed the maximum possible sentence, citing the violent nature of Kurbanov’s crime and its impact on the victim, who was seriously injured, and his family. The convict will serve his prison terms consecutively for a total of 45 years behind bars. He must also submit to a lifetime of supervision following his release.
In August 2015, a federal jury in Boise, Idaho found Kurbanov guilty of providing material support to a terrorist organization and possession of an unregistered destructive device. He has maintained his innocence since his arrest in early 2013.
He and his family came to the United States in 2009 as refugees. They fled Uzbekistan to escape persecution after his parents and sister converted to Christianity from Islam.
