[h=4]vk.com[/h]Dias Kadyrbayev (r.) with Azamat Tazhayakov. The two allegedly held on to the suspect’s laptop.
Two of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s boneheaded pals pleaded not guilty Tuesday to helping cover the suspected Boston Marathon bomber’s tracks.
Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, who knew Tsarnaev through the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, allegedly removed a laptop and backpack full of fireworks and petroleum jelly from Tsarnaev’s dorm room three days after the April 15 attack.
The gun powder from the fireworks was allegedly used to make the pressure cooker bombs authorities say Tsarnaev detonated with the help of his now-dead older brother, Tamerlan. The bombings killed three and injured more than 200.
The 19-year-old roommates allegedly threw away the backpack, which was found a week later in a landfill. After being approached by investigators, the teens turned over Tsarnaev’s laptop voluntarily, according to prosecutors.
The pair faces charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice that could carry sentences of 25 years in prison. They also face deportation.
Attorneys for both teens said their clients cooperated with the authorities once they were approached.
"He feels this is a witch hunt," said Arkady Bukh, one of Tazhayakov's lawyers. He added that the teen came from a “liberal, traditional” Muslim family and that the attack “was an absolute shock.”
RELATED: BOSTON BOMBING SUSPECT'S FRIENDS CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
Bukh said that Kadyrbayev was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when Tazhayakov swiped the laptop.
"It appears he was charged based on his presence there," the lawyer said.
[h=4]Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP[/h][h=4]‘He was innocent, and he was simply killed,’ said an emotional Abdulbaki Todashev through a translator.[/h]
Kadyrbayev is remembered for having a car bearing the license plate “Terrorista 1.” But his dad, Amir Ismagulov, said the plate was a gift from his girlfriend and a harmless reference to a lyric in the hit song “Harlem Shake.”
"She didn't mean any type of terrorist," said the father. "She meant he was a very good dancer," Ismagulov said.
Another friend of Tsarnaev’s, Robel Phillipos, 19, was charged with making false statements to police and is in plea negotiations with the government, according to court papers.
Prosecutors said they will call around 15 witnesses in the case against Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov, and they expect the trial before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler to last two weeks. A start date has not been set.
In another incident related to the Boston Marathon attacks, the father of a Chechen immigrant killed in Florida by FBI agents investigating the bombings demanded an explanation for the deadly shooting on Monday.
Two of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s boneheaded pals pleaded not guilty Tuesday to helping cover the suspected Boston Marathon bomber’s tracks.
Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, who knew Tsarnaev through the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, allegedly removed a laptop and backpack full of fireworks and petroleum jelly from Tsarnaev’s dorm room three days after the April 15 attack.
The gun powder from the fireworks was allegedly used to make the pressure cooker bombs authorities say Tsarnaev detonated with the help of his now-dead older brother, Tamerlan. The bombings killed three and injured more than 200.
The 19-year-old roommates allegedly threw away the backpack, which was found a week later in a landfill. After being approached by investigators, the teens turned over Tsarnaev’s laptop voluntarily, according to prosecutors.
The pair faces charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice that could carry sentences of 25 years in prison. They also face deportation.
Attorneys for both teens said their clients cooperated with the authorities once they were approached.
"He feels this is a witch hunt," said Arkady Bukh, one of Tazhayakov's lawyers. He added that the teen came from a “liberal, traditional” Muslim family and that the attack “was an absolute shock.”
RELATED: BOSTON BOMBING SUSPECT'S FRIENDS CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
Bukh said that Kadyrbayev was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when Tazhayakov swiped the laptop.
"It appears he was charged based on his presence there," the lawyer said.
Kadyrbayev is remembered for having a car bearing the license plate “Terrorista 1.” But his dad, Amir Ismagulov, said the plate was a gift from his girlfriend and a harmless reference to a lyric in the hit song “Harlem Shake.”
"She didn't mean any type of terrorist," said the father. "She meant he was a very good dancer," Ismagulov said.
Another friend of Tsarnaev’s, Robel Phillipos, 19, was charged with making false statements to police and is in plea negotiations with the government, according to court papers.
Prosecutors said they will call around 15 witnesses in the case against Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov, and they expect the trial before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler to last two weeks. A start date has not been set.
In another incident related to the Boston Marathon attacks, the father of a Chechen immigrant killed in Florida by FBI agents investigating the bombings demanded an explanation for the deadly shooting on Monday.