North Carolina Resident Anes Subasic Sentenced for Terrorism Violations

NEW BERN, NC—United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced Anes Subasic, 36, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina, to 360 months in prison, followed by five years’ supervised release, and a $1,000 fine. “We must be ever vigilant in the pursuit of those who seek to destroy our way of life. This prosecution is evidence of our commitment to do so,” stated U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker.

Subasic was tried separately on two occasions for immigration and terrorism offenses. In September 2011, Subasic was found guilty of two counts of unlawful procurement of citizenship. On June 14, 2012, Subasic was found guilty of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339A; and conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad, Title 18, United States Code, Section 956(a).

”Anes Subasic played a critical role in this multi-year conspiracy to murder persons abroad and provide material support to terrorism. Today, he is being held accountable for his actions. I thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who helped bring about this successful outcome,” said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

“We must remain vigilant against extremists here and abroad who seek to do us harm. Today’s sentence is the result of years of hard work by our Raleigh-Durham Joint Terrorism Task Force. The JTTF will continue to detect and disrupt acts of terrorism in our communities,” said Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Charlotte.

“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service is committed to protecting our warfighters both abroad and in our communities at home by working with the Raleigh FBI JTTF to bring these violent extremists to justice,” commented John F. Khin, DCIS Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Field Office. “Many years of dedication, persistence, and collaboration by all the partners of the FBI JTTF culminated in today’s sentencing of these criminals.”

Subasic falsely represented that he had never been charged with any criminal conduct on his immigration paperwork, and the evidence showed that, in fact, Subasic had been charged in Serbia with committing crimes on at least 10 occasions including several violent crimes. Subasic was part of a conspiracy involving numerous defendants that offered training in weapons and financing and helped arrange overseas travel and contacts so others could wage violent jihad overseas.

The defendants raised money to support training efforts, disguised the destination of such monies from the donors, and obtained assault weapons to develop skills with the weapons. Some defendants also allegedly radicalized others to believe that violent jihad was a personal religious obligation.

In February 2011, Daniel Boyd, the leader of the conspiracy, pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons in a foreign country. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m. today. Boyd’s two sons, Zakariya and Dylan Boyd, have also pleaded guilty. Zakariya Boyd pleaded guilty on June 27, 2011, to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and was sentenced to 108 months in prison. Dylan Boyd pled guilty on September 14, 2011, to aiding and abetting a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and received a 96-month prison sentence.

On October 13, 2011, following a 17-day trial, a jury found Hysen Sherifi, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, and Ziyad Yaghi guilty. Sherifi was found guilty of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists; conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons in a foreign country; two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; and conspiring to kill a federal officer or employee and was sentenced to 540 months in prisont. Hassan and Yaghi were found guilty of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons in a foreign country. Hassan received a 180-month prison term, and Yaghi received 380 months in prison.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Jason Kellhofer of the Counterterrorism Section in the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

News releases are available on the U.S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.