Court Case

USA v. Khan, Asher Abid

May 2015 (Updated December 22, 2021)
Houston, TX
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

[SDTX] Asher Abid Khan was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Khan and a friend planned to travel to Turkey and on to Syria for the purpose of joining and waging jihad on behalf of ISIL. Khan pleaded guilty to providing material support to ISIS. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2018 for engaging in conspiracy to aid ISIS. Following an appeal, the court resentenced Khan in December 2019 again to serve the 18-month term of imprisonment. The government then again appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, arguing the sentence was not reasonable for the severity of the offense committed. Khan was resentenced in December 2021, and has been ordered to prison for 12 years following the reversal of original sentence.

Case Updates

2021-12-22 | Texan resentenced following terrorism conviction and appeal

The 27-year-old Spring man convicted of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization has been ordered to prison for 12 years following reversal of original sentence. Asher Abid Khan pleaded guilty in December 2017, to providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) aka ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham). In June 2018, U.S. District Judge Lynn H. Hughes downwardly departed from the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and ordered Khan to serve a total of 18 months in prison. Following an appeal, the court resentenced him in December 2019, again to serve the 18-month term of imprisonment. The government then again appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, arguing the sentence was not reasonable for the severity of the offense committed. That court granted to government's appeal and ordered the judgment reversed and vacated, and the matter reassigned. In December 2021, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Eskridge sentenced Khan to 144 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by 15 years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court noted the strong condemnation by Congress regarding this conduct and that a young man died.

Case Documents