NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) – A US jury on Thursday convicted a man who used a truck to kill eight people on a Manhattan bike path in 2017 on murder and terrorism charges in the president’s first federal trial. US Joe Biden on the death penalty. administration.
Finding Saifullo Saipov guilty of murder in order to join Islamic State, also known as ISIS, the Manhattan jury will return on February 6 to consider whether the death penalty is an appropriate punishment.
U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick instructed the jury not to speak about the case until they returned.
The only point of contention between prosecutors and Saipov’s lawyers was whether the defendant carried out the attack in order to join the Islamic State, which the United States calls a terrorist organization.
Saipov, an Uzbek citizen who moved to the US in 2010, was convicted on all 28 counts.
These include murder and attempted murder to infiltrate the Islamic State, providing material support to a terrorist organization, and damaging or destroying a vehicle. Saipov pleaded not guilty.
Wearing a mask and headphones to listen to an interpreter, Saipov looked down as the verdict was read and then spoke to one of his lawyers.
[1/7] Saifullo Saipov, an Uzbek accused of killing eight people on a Manhattan bike path on Halloween in 2017, listens to testimony from FBI Special Agent Margaret Girard at a federal court in New York, U.S. January 9, 2023. this sketch of the courtroom. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
Attorney Jason Richman told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday that Saipov asked to hang an Islamic State flag at the hospital where he was treated after the October 31, 2017, attack.
“He was delighted with the terrorist attack he unleashed,” Richman said. “He did his part of the job, he earned his place and wanted to show the world.”
David Patton, a federal public defender representing Saipov, admitted in his closing statement that the defendant carried out the attack, but said he expected to die and become a martyr for Islam rather than join the Islamic State.
Patton also said that Saipov was “immersed in ISIS propaganda” at the time.
“He didn’t expect to be here before all of you,” Patton said. “And he had no intention of joining any organization. Which means he’s innocent.
The US Justice Department said in September it intends to seek the death penalty for Saipov, despite a moratorium on federal executions from July 2021, as the department reviews the practice.
Saipov, who last worked as an Uber driver in Paterson, New Jersey, could also face life in prison without parole. He has been in detention since his arrest on the day of the attack.
Reporting by Luke Cohen in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler, Bill Burcroth and David Gregorio
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