Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Dilkhayot Kasimov, a citizen of Uzbekistan and resident of Brooklyn, was sentenced by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II to 15 years in prison for conspiring and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Kasimov was convicted of both counts following a one-week trial in September 2019.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Matthew Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.
“Kasimov is an ISIS supporter who collected and gave money to another individual to fund his travel to join the terrorist group. With this sentence, Kasimov is being held accountable for his crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. “The National Security Division is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who seek to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations. I would like to thank all of the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this case.”
“Providing financial support to potential ISIS-inspired foreign fighters comes with a stiff penalty. As Kasimov learned today, his actions will cost him 15 years behind bars. The FBI continues to make every effort to protect Americans at home and abroad and to bring other like-minded criminals to justice,” stated Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.
“This sentence serves as a warning to anyone who seeks to fund or carry out acts of terror,” stated NYPD Commissioner Sewell. “The NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau and the Joint Terrorism Task Force will remain vigilant in our efforts to stem the flow of fighters and disrupt and dismantle the networks that support them, both here and abroad.”
According to court filings, in 2015, Kasimov’s co-consiprators Abdurasul Juraboev and Akhror Saidakhmetov planned to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of ISIS. Kasimov provided money – his own and cash collected by others – to help fund Saidakhmetov’s travel and expenses. On the evening of Saidakhmetov’s scheduled departure in February 2015, Kasimov drove to John F. Kennedy International Airport, met Saidakhmetov at Terminal 7 and handed him $1,600 in cash on behalf of himself, co-conspirator Abror Habibov and others.
Co-defendants Juraboev and Saidakahmetov were each sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, while co-defendant Azizjon Rakhmatov was sentenced to 12.5 years’ imprisonment. Habibov and co-defendant Akmal Zakirov are awaiting sentencing. A seventh co-conspirator, Dilshod Khusanov, who was charged in a separate indictment, pled guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 5, 2022.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security & Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Douglas M. Pravda, David K. Kessler and J. Matthew Haggans are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Steven Ward of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The Defendant:
DILKHAYOT KASIMOV
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-95 (S-3)(WFK)