A U.S.-Uzbek citizen sought by American authorities for “a decade” was arrested in Georgia and extradited to the United States to face charges of providing material support to the Islamic State group and al-Nusrah Front, the U.S. Embassy in Georgia reported on September 25.
“Uzbek national Davud Ansariy, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested in Tbilisi after a decade on the run and extradited to face U.S. charges of providing material support to ISIS and al-Nusrah Front,” the embassy said on X, adding that “countering terrorist support networks helps keep America safe.”
The Embassy thanked Georgian authorities for helping secure Ansariy’s arrest and extradition.
According to U.S. authorities, Ansariy, 41, also known as Kozimjon Gafurov and Kozim, was arrested in Tbilisi in August and extradited to the U.S. on September 23. “Defendant was the founder and leader of a network known as the “Tea Party,” allegedly raised funds to support ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front, and coordinated local support network for foreign fighters,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in its September 24 press release.
Ansariy allegedly led a network primarily based in Brooklyn, New York, and was someone who “either planned to travel to Syria to become ISIS or ANF fighters, and/or who financed the travel of aspiring fighters.” Members referred to the network as “chayxona,” an Uzbek term meaning “tea house” or “tea party.” He allegedly facilitated “an expansive network that sought to finance the travel of foreign fighters to wage violent jihad.”
“The group also raised money to help support the families that fighters left behind when they traveled to Syria, and to help support the widows and families of those who were killed fighting,” DOJ said in the press release. “As a result of these ‘tea party’ collections, Ansariy and others funded the travel of at least three individuals to Syria in 2013,” the statement said, adding that “all three are believed to have been killed in Syria.”
If convicted, Ansariy faces up to 35 years in prison.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, credited the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s law enforcement attaché in Tbilisi and the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia with securing Ansariy’s arrest and extradition.
The extradition, the second such case reported in September, comes amid what appears to be continued law-enforcement cooperation between U.S. and Georgian authorities, against the backdrop of persistent uncertainty following the U.S. unilateral suspension of the strategic partnership in 2024.
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