Boston Marathon bombings – three charged
Three men are charged in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings, in which three people were killed and 264 injured.
The three suspects are charged with interfering with the investigation into the bombings.
Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice by throwing away a backpack containing fireworks and a laptop computer belonging to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of two brothers suspected of carrying out the 15 April attack.
A third man, Robel Phillipos, is charged with making false statements to investigators. Two of the men are former classmates of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
The bombings are alleged to have been carried out by two brothers of Chechen descent using pressure cooker bombs left near the finish line of the marathon.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died in a gunfight with police three days after the bombings. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is being held in a prison medical centre after being formally charged with crimes that carry the death penalty.
Three additional suspects taken into custody in Marathon bombing case. Details to follow.
— Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) May 1, 2013
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s relatives will claim his body now that his wife has agreed to release it, said the men’s uncle Ruslan Tsarni.
The Tsarnaev brothers’ mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, told Channel 4 News in an interview in Dagestan last week that she did not believe her sons were responsible.
Police said Tamerlan Tsarnaev ran out of ammunition before Dzhokhar dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing the scene.
Cause of death
His cause of death has been determined but will not be made public until his remains are claimed.
The brothers’ father Anzor announced plans last week to travel to the US in the hope of burying his elder son, but he has postponed the trip because he is suffering from bad headaches and high blood pressure.
Dzhokhar was wounded in the shootout with police as he and his brother attempted to escape. He is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, a crime that carries a potential death sentence.
Surveillance
Russian agents placed the older suspect under surveillance during a six-month visit to southern Russia last year.
US law enforcement officials have been trying to determine whether Tamerlan Tsarnaev was indoctrinated or trained by militants during his visit to Dagestan.
Intelligence officials have begun a review into whether sensitive information was adequately shared and whether the US government could have disrupted the attack.