BOISE, Idaho (AP) " An Uzbek refugee sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted in a plan to kill military personnel or civilians in Idaho has dropped an appeal of his conviction and sentence in exchange for dismissal of bomb-making charges in Utah, a newspaper reported.
The deal also includes prosecutors in Idaho dropping their appeal that the sentence for 33-year-old Fazliddin Kurbanov wasn't long enough, the Idaho Statesman reported (http://bit.ly/28SLjbL) Thursday.
A federal court judge in Boise sentenced Kurbanov in January following his August conviction on charges of conspiracy, attempting to support a terrorist organization and possession of bomb-making components.
A Utah grand jury in May 2013 indicted Kurbanov on charges of providing instruction on the construction and use of an improvised explosive device. Kurbanov could have faced an additional 20 years in prison if convicted of that count.
That case was put on hold while proceedings in Idaho moved forward.
Chuck Peterson, Kurbanov's attorney, declined to comment.
Federal prosecutors in Idaho said Kurbanov had an unwavering commitment to kill personnel at a military base or civilians at crowded Fourth of July celebrations in downtown Boise.
Authorities also said Kurbanov discussed with a confidential FBI source targeting military bases, in particular West Point Military Academy in New York.
Prosecutors say the Russian-speaking truck driver who fled Uzbekistan in 2009 downloaded jihadist and martyrdom videos from a terrorist website and communicated with a terrorist organization, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Authorities monitored his communications and arrested him in 2013.
Kurbanov has denied being a terrorist. But U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge said during sentencing that Kurbanov intended to commit jihad against the U.S.
Kurbanov faces deportation at the end of his prison sentence.