Updated

A Bosnian man who was imprisoned for 18 years for shooting at the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo and wounding a local policeman there has asked a court to reduce his sentence, saying he acted after being brainwashed by videos his radical Muslim friends had shown him.

Mevlid Jasarevic told the appeals court Wednesday that his attack on 2011 was "incredibly stupid." His defense lawyer argued that he didn't intend to kill anyone and that the penalty for his act of terrorism was too harsh.

Jasarevic, a Muslim, said after seeing the videos he attacked the embassy to draw attention to the plight of Muslims worldwide. He said that after being jailed he realized his child was now fatherless while his radical friends remained at home.