Bangladeshi immigrant convicted for 2017 New York subway bomb blast

Washington: A US federal court has convicted a Bangladeshi immigrant on charges of detonation and attempted detonation of a pipe bomb in a New York subway station last year.

Akayed Ullah, 28, a legal permanent resident, faces a possible sentence of life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled on April 5.

During interrogation, Ullah had told law enforcement officials that he got inspiration from the ISIS to carry out such a terrorist strike in New York City and constructed the pipe bomb at his residence in Brooklyn.

US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said that Ullah’s sinister purpose was to harm and terrorize as many innocent people in his path as possible, by using deadly violence to make a political statement.

Assistant Attorney General John Demers said, “Less than a year ago, Ullah constructed a pipe bomb and detonated it in a mass transit hub in the heart of New York City to harm and terrorize as many people as possible, all on behalf of ISIS. His crime reminds us that the threat of radical Islamist terrorism remains real.”

“This guilty verdict holds Ullah accountable and he faces a potential life term in federal prison for his crimes. I want to thank all the agents and prosecutors whose outstanding work made this result possible,” he said.

Berman said, “Ullah’s conviction by a unanimous jury of New Yorkers falls on Election Day, which fittingly underscores the core principles of American democracy and spirit: Americans engage in the political process through votes, not violence.” Ullah detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) inside a subway terminal near the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal on December 11, 2017.

Shortly after the blast, members of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department located Ullah lying on the ground in the vicinity of the explosion. Surveillance footage had captured him walking through the Subway Terminal and detonating the IED.