It has now been 14 days since Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly detonated two pressure cooker bombs at the Boston Marathon; an act of terror that killed three and injured more than 200.
Yesterday social media details emerged on Dzhokhar who is now in a federal prison in Fort Devens, Mass. It was discovered that the suspect had an Instagram account, which was recently deleted while today the mother of both suspects,Zubeidat Tsarnaeva is appearing to possibly be more involved in radicalizing her sons.
Here are the latest updates in the ongoing case.
1. Russia Heard Boston Suspects’ Mother ‘Discussing Jihad’
In 2011, Russia intercepted a communication between the mother of the accused Boston Marathon bombers and someone who may have been one of her sons “discussing jihad,” according to a U.S. official.
While the source says the conversation seems vague the Russians have turned over the intercept to the FBI in the last few days.
CNN reports:
This source was not aware of a reason for the delay and did not offer an opinion about whether it would have given the FBI enough reason to justify a closer look at Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the oldest of the two brothers.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was asked abut the report while attending the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday.
“That’s an ongoing matter. I can’t really comment on that.”
According to Huffington Post, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva also spoke with a man in the Caucasus region of Russia who was under FBI investigation, in a second call.
The mother has denied that she or her sons were involved in terrorism and has said she believed her sons have been framed by U.S. authorities.
2.Boston Bombing Suspect Confined To A Small Cell With Steel Door
A federal official says Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being held in a small cell with a steel door at a federal medical detention center about 40 miles outside the city.
Federal Medical Center Devens spokesman John Collauti described the conditions the 19-year-old is under.
He says the suspect is in secure housing where authorities can monitor him. His cell has a solid steel door with an observation window and a slot for passing food and medication
In an interview with the Associated Press, Collauti says:
“Really this type of facility is fully capable of handling him and it’s not that much of an inconvenience because it’s more or less business as usual,”
3. Anzor Tsarnaev, Boston Suspects’ Father, Postpones U.S. Trip
The father of the two Boston bombing suspects says he is postponing a trip to the United States because of poor health. Today, Anzor Tsarnaev told The Associated Press that he is “really sick” and his blood pressure had spiked.
Huffington Post reports:
Tsarnaev said last week that he planned to travel from Russia to the U.S. with the hope of seeing his younger son, who is under arrest, and burying his elder son, who was killed in a clash with police.
Tsarnaev confirmed that he is staying in Chechnya, a province in southern Russia, but did not specify whether he was hospitalized.
Until Friday, he and the suspects’ mother had been living in the neighboring province of Dagestan.
4. Jailed Friends Of The Suspect Shocked By His Actions
Two college friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who were jailed by immigration authorities the day after his capture had nothing to do with the deadly attack and had seen no hints that he had any violent thoughts or terrorist sympathies, a lawyer for one of them said Friday.
Kadyrbayev’s lawyer, Robert Stahl, said in a phone interview:
“These kids are just as shocked and horrified about what happened as everyone else. They can’t even fathom something like this from a kid who seemed to be a typical young college student.”
According to The Sacremento Bee, while they are not suspects, the pair are being held due to violating their student visas.Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev have been interviewed at length, twice, by FBI agents and have cooperated fully, said Stahl, a former federal prosecutor.
