Irek Hamidullin

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 06, 2015

A former Soviet military tank commander convicted of leading a Taliban attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan is due to be sentenced in Virginia on December 3.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on November 6 that U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson had set the date for Irek Hamidullin’s sentencing.

Hamudullin was convicted of 15 terror-related charges in August.

Prosecutors say he is a Russian veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan who joined a Taliban affiliate and led insurgents in a 2009 attack on Afghan border police and U.S. soldiers.

Hamudullin was brought into the courtroom for his November 6 hearing in a wheelchair.

One of his attorneys told the judge that Hamidullin, who’s Muslim, has been fasting.

Based on reporting by AP and Richmond Times-Dispatch