A US-Uzbek citizen wanted internationally by US law enforcement agencies on terrorism-related charges has been arrested in Georgia following close bilateral coordination between Georgia’s Central Criminal Police Department, the General Prosecutor’s Office and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Interior Ministry said.
The arrest was carried out within the framework of a joint declaration signed with representatives of the US Department of State.
The man was wanted on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, providing material support, and attempting to provide such support.
Officers from the Search Division of the Organized Crime Department of the Central Criminal Police Department arrested the man at Tbilisi International Airport as he arrived in Georgia from another country.
US law enforcement agencies said the wanted individual had formed a group in the United States to provide support to a foreign terrorist organization. He also established and led a financial support network for the same purpose.
The group’s leader and members provided active material, technical and financial support to terrorist organizations in Syria, including the Islamic State.
The man also encouraged various individuals to travel to Syria to fight and offered them assistance in doing so.
Extradition procedures against the detainee are currently underway.
The Interior Ministry said Georgia has successfully cooperated with US law enforcement agencies for many years in combating various categories of crime.
