Man pleads guilty to aiding Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

WASHINGTON – A Dutch-Turkish man has pleaded guilty to providing material support to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Federal officials announced Thursday that 58-year-old Irfan Demirtas pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Officials say Demirtas was charged in a 2011 sealed indictment related to actions between 2006 and 2008 when he was a Netherlands resident and a fundraiser and facilitator for the group. The government says the militant Islamic group, formed in 1991, aims to overthrow Uzbekistan’s government and create an Islamic state. In his plea, Demirtas acknowledges providing funds to the group’s leader.

Demirtas was arrested in Germany in 2015 and extradited to the U.S. He faces a statutory maximum of 15 years and financial penalties at sentencing Nov. 30.

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