BIRMINGHAM: An Uzbek man who came to the US pursuing an Ivy League medical degree but wound up working seven days a week at a mall in Alabama was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison Friday for plotting to kill President Barack Obama.
Ulugbek Kodirov, 22, had faced up to 30 years in prison.
Written and oral court pleadings show that Kodirov was accepted to study medicine at Columbia University in New York but never enrolled because his English was too poor. He later moved to Alabama for a job and worked at a mall, where the defense said he used the free wi-fi service to connect with extremists who turned him against the United States.
Kodirov apologized Friday in halting English. “I am truly sorry for every mistake that I have done,” he told the judge.
Defense attorney Lance Bell argued that Kodirov had accepted responsibility for his actions and was trying to straighten out his life.
“I’m not calling him a victim, but he’s a victim to a degree of social media,” Bell said.
Assistant US Attorney Michael Whisonant said Kodirov would have tried to kill Obama, and a foreign group would have taken credit, had he not been arrested a year ago.
“This case is an example of how our youth can be radicalized by the propaganda and lies on the Internet,” Whisonant told the judge.
