U.S. authorities have arrested and charged three more
men in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing investigation. The
suspects are accused of aiding one of the Boston bombers, Dzohkhar Tsarnaev,
after the attack by conspiring to obstruct the investigation.
Three newly-arrested suspects appeared in a Boston
federal courtroom briefly Wednesday afternoon. Two of them, Dias
Kadyrbayev, 19 years old and Azamat Tazhayakov, also 19 years old, are both
nationals of Kazakhstan who entered the United States on student visas.
The two are charged with conspiracy to obstruct
justice by conspiring to destroy, conceal and cover-up a laptop and a backpack
containing empty fireworks belonging to the suspected bomber who is in police
custody, Dhokhar Tsarnaev.
The two men could face a maximum sentence of five
years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
An attorney for Dias Kadyrbayev, Robert Stahl,
told reporters that his client is not guilty and has been assisting
Federal Bureau of Investigation officials.
"He is just as shocked and horrified by the
violence in Boston that took place as the rest of the community is. He did not
know that this individual was involved in the bombing. His first inkling
came much later," he said.
A third suspect, Robel Phillipos, 19 years old,
is charged with willfully making materially false statements to federal law
enforcement officials during a terrorism investigation. Phillipos, a
U.S. citizen, could face a maximum of eight years in prison and a $250,000
fine.
Media reports say the three men attended the
University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth with the younger brother suspected in
the Boston bombing, Dzokhar Tsarnaev, and have now admitted that they removed a
backpack and a laptop from Tsarnaev’s dorm room and and did not inform
authorities.
No evidence has been released at this time that would
indicate that the newly charged suspects aided the two Tsarnaev brothers before
the Boston bombings, and Boston police say there is no threat to the public.
The older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a
shootout with police.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack
Obama is briefed on the Boston bombing investigation regularly. Speaking
at a news conference Tuesday, President Obama expressed confidence in the job
U.S. intelligence officials are doing, and said it is very hard to prevent
smaller attacks planned by individuals.
“One of the
dangers we now face are self-radicalized individuals who are already here in
the U.S. and in some cases, might not be part of any network," he
said.
U.S. lawmakers were briefed last week by intelligence
officials and told reporters afterwards that they were told that the Tsarnaev
brothers likely learned bomb-making from jihadist websites.
Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff of California said
it may be that the face of the terrorist threat is changing.
"Well, you know probably the most profound
question that has been raised by this is, 'has the nature of the threat
changed?' Is it a situation where we are now facing more what Europe has
faced, with a alienation of part of the immigrant population,
self-radicalization? That is a different challenge than those that are
trained overseas or receive material support from overseas and come here to
attack us," he said.
The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a
hearing next week on the Boston bombings and the implications for U.S. national
security.
Sources :
http://www.voanews.com/content/widow-of-boston-bombing-suspect-wants-body-released-to-relatives/1652440.html
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