An Uzbekistan national pleaded not guilty on three federal counts of terrorism Friday morning in Boise. Fazliddin Kurbanov was arrested Thursday at his Boise apartment. Adam Cotterell was in the court room and described Kurbanov to All Things Considered host Samantha Wright.
Transcript
Cotterell: I don’t think he’d stand out on the streets of Boise or on the Boise State campus for that matter. He’s 30 but looks a bit younger. A little taller than average. Stocky. Olive skin, short black hair, dark eye brows with maybe a couple weeks growth of beard.
Wright: How did he act in court?
Cotterell: He spoke into a phone to an interpreter. We never heard his voice but we heard the interpreter coming through speakers. He seemed to speak to her just one or two words at a time. He didn’t seem at all scared or nervous. He didn’t frown, he even smiled a bit. I’d say if anything he seemed a bit embarrassed. At one point a guard led him past me. He had on yellow and white striped jail clothes and red lipstick colored handcuffs. He flashed a little grin that made me think of people slamming on their brakes in an intersection because someone else has done something stupid, then look at each other as if to say “can you believe this crazy situation we’re in here.”
Wright: Does he speak English?
Cotterell: I’m not sure. I think he speaks some. He was talking to his public defenders afterward and they were talking to him. Reportedly he does speak Uzbek and Russian but his lawyers didn’t know what language he was speaking to the interpreter. They got handed the case this morning and had about half an hour to meet with him.
Wright: What else can you tell about Kurbanov?
Cotterell: Not all that much so far. He’s been working as a truck driver. Allegedly he’s given personal assistance as well as computer software and money to an organization called the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. And investigators say he was in Utah last January and taught people how to make and use destructive explosives and weapons of mass destruction, even taking people shopping to show them what supplies they needed.
Wright: So what is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan?
Cotterell: First Uzbekistan is a former Soviet republic in Central Asia. The Islamic Movement formed in the 90s. The U.S. officially labeled it a terrorist organization 13 years ago. It wants to overthrow the government of Uzbekistan and set up an Islamic state. It’s also believed to be more broadly involved in the region with fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last year a man in Alabama pleaded guilty to planning to assassinate President Obama, he said under instructions the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Wright: You said we don’t know much, what are some of the things investigators are keeping under wraps.
Cotterell: They won’t say how much money he’s supposed to have given. They won’t discuss his immigration status beyond that he’s here legally. They won’t say how long the FBI has been investigating him or if there are any other suspects or who he’s been in contact with. Though some of that might come out next Tuesday in his hearing to see if he’ll be held until the trail.
Wright: When is the trial?
Cotterell: It’s set for July 2nd but U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson says it likely will change because it’s a complicated case.
Wright: What did Olson say after the hearing?
Cotterell: She wanted to stress that whatever threat Kurbanov posed has been neutralized, though she would not say what that threat may have been. She also expressed concern about anti-Islamic comments she’s been seeing on Treasure Valley web pages.
“The fact that this individual was arrested and the terrorist organization identified reflects not at all on the broader Muslim Community here in Idaho,” Olson says. “We have outstanding partnership with the Muslim community and work with them in a number of areas”
Cotterell: Olson went on to warn that her office is ready to prosecute anyone involved in a backlash against Muslims or Uzbeks in Idaho.
Copyright 2013 Boise State Public Radio