Posts

Photographs of Bloodied Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Climbing Out of Boat Leaked; Police Photographer Suspended

/6 Comments/in , , /by

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: dramatic new pictures of Boston suspect’s capture

By Ed Pilkington. He is standing with a bright red bead from a sniper’s laser trained directly in the middle of his forehead, his nose bloodied and his blood-stained hand raised in apparent surrender. Around him are the shredded shrouds of the boat in which he made his last stand.

According to the photographer who took the haunting picture, this is the real face of terrorism, not the “glamourised” image of the surviving suspect of the Boston marathon bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, that appears on the cover of next month’s Rolling Stone magazine. The photograph was taken by Sergeant Sean Murphy, a tactical photographer with the Massachusetts state police, who accompanied Swat teams as they apprehended Tsarnaev in Watertown in April following one of the largest manhunts in US history.

Murphy released a sequence of his official pictures to Boston magazine as an expression of his anger towards Rolling Stone’s depiction of the bombing suspect. The release was unauthorised and Murphy was relieved of his duties on Thursday night, pending an investigation.

The move adds to the billowing controversy surrounding Rolling Stone‘s choice of cover image that has Tsarnaev staring straight out at the reader, his dark curls framing his face above the headline ‘The Bomber’. Read more from this story HERE.

________________________________________________________________

Bloodied and bruised at the moment of surrender: Dramatic new pictures emerge of the moment ‘Boston bomber’ climbed from the boat where he had been hiding as a sniper took aim at his head

By David McCormack, James Nye and Helen Pow. Dramatic new images have been released showing alleged Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev bruised and bloodied with his hands in the air as he emerges from his final hiding place.

Cornered by police, the photos show the 19-year-old in a blood-splattered black jumper, with hands stained red and a sniper’s laser aimed directly at his forehead.

The sobering pictures were released by Sergeant Sean Murphy, a tactical photographer with the Massachusetts state police, in a bid to show the real face of terrorism in reaction to the ‘glamorized‘ image of Tsarnaev that graces the cover of Rolling Stone magazine’s controversial new issue.

The officer has now been suspended over his decision to leak the photos, and will find out next week whether or not he will be allowed to keep his job.

Murphy accompanied the Swat teams as they descended on a boat in the backyard of a Watertown home, where Tsarnaev sought refuge following one of the biggest manhunts in U.S. history. Read more from this story HERE.

Rolling Stone Criticized for Putting “Rock Star” Photo of Boston Bombing Suspect on its Front Cover (+video)

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: ABC15Rolling Stone Boston bomber suspect photo stirs online controversy; CVS, Walgreens drop the issue

By Tracy Jarrett. Rolling Stone magazine sparked a heated social media debate Wednesday after releasing a cover image promoting an upcoming profile of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The Twitter and Facebook firestorm resulted in calls for boycotts and drugstore chains Walgreens and CVS announcing they would not carry the issue in their stores. Together, the pharmacies have more than 15,000 locations nationwide.

“As a company with deep roots in New England and a strong presence in Boston, we believe this is the right decision out of respect for the victims of the attack and their loved ones,” a statement from CVS said. CVS is headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I. Tedeschi Foods, a New England-based grocery chain with 200 outlets, also announced Wednesday that it would not carry the issue of the magazine.

The cover, released online as a preview to Friday’s edition with an in-depth article chronicling Tsarnaev’s life leading up to the Boston Marathon bombing, features a “selfie” — or self-taken photo– by Tsarnaev with the teen’s hair falling across his face. Read more from this story HERE.

___________________________________________________________________

Rolling Stone, Critic Defend Cover

In a statement, the magazine said its thoughts were “always with” the bombing victims and their families.

“The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day,” it said. “The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens.”

While primarily a music magazine, the journal also has forged a reputation for hard-hitting pieces on national affairs, politics and popular culture. For example, journalist Michael Hastings wrote a 2010 profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal that led to the officer’s abrupt retirement. In his profile, Hastings quoted McChrystal and his staff criticizing and mocking key administration officials.

Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple said Rolling Stone should be out defending its article, because it’s “a pretty easy thing to defend.”

“What you have here is a story about a guy who was very integrated and well-balanced, by all accounts, member of our society until something happened,” Wemple said. “We don’t know precisely what happend and that was the whole point of this Rolling Stone story — to account for how he slid off the rails.”

___________________________________________________________________

Ex-Obama NSC spokesman the latest to criticize Rolling Stone bomber cover

By Jonathan Easley. President Obama’s former National Security Council spokesman is the latest to question Rolling Stone’s cover of the Boston Marathon suspect.

Tommy Vietor, the former spokesman, said he thought the Rolling Stone magazine cover glamorized Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is suspected of plotting and carrying out the bombing earlier this year that killed three people.

The cover photo shows an image of an angelic looking Tsarnaev, who is starting straight ahead. Read more from this story HERE.

FBI Orders the State of Florida Medical Examiner to Keep Boston Bombing Friend’s Autopsy Secret

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: APA Florida medical examiner’s office said Tuesday that the FBI has ordered the office not to release its autopsy report of a Chechen man fatally shot by a Boston FBI agent in May because of the federal agency’s active internal investigation into his death.

The medical examiner’s office said it completed the autopsy report on Ibragim Todashev, a friend of suspected Boston Marathon bomber c, on July 8 and that the report was “ready for release.” The agent shot and killed Todashev on May 22 in his Orlando apartment during an interrogation related to the Boston Marathon bombings.

“The FBI has informed this office that the case is still under active investigation and thus not to release the document,” Tony Miranda, forensic records coordinator for Orange and Osceola counties in Orlando, said in a letter to the media today. Miranda said state law bars his office from releasing the report if an criminal investigation is ongoing.

The FBI and the Justice Department are conducting an internal inquiry into the shooting, but critics have called for an independent inquiry, questioning the blanket of secrecy surrounding the case.

The FBI and the Massachusetts State Police sought out Todashev after the Marathon bombings, but have refused to release details of the shooting. Media reports have provided conflicting accounts: Some said Todashev attacked the agent with a blade during an interrogation, while others said Todashev was unarmed. Another said he lunged at the agent with a metal pole or a broomstick.

Read more from this story HERE.

Explosive Exchange: Rep. Louie Gohmert Confronts FBI Director on Failure to Investigate Mosque that Boston Bombers Attended (+video)

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Things got seriously tense during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday when Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and FBI Director Robert Mueller battled over the efficiency of the FBI’s investigation into the Boston bombers prior to the April 15 terrorist attack.

Surprisingly, Mueller claimed he wasn’t aware that the mosque that the Boston bombing suspects attended, the Islamic Society of Boston, was founded by a convicted supporter of terrorism.

Due to this and other reasons, Gohmert argued not enough was done to prevent the attack as the suspects’ radical Islamic ties were overlooked.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russian Forces Arrest Mayor of Dagestan City Where Tsarnaev Lived

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Reuters

The mayor of Dagestan’s largest city, who has survived 15 assassination attempts and employs a large security force to protect him, was arrested on murder charges Saturday by heavily armed forces in armored personnel carriers and helicopters, Russian officials said.

Said Amirov, the 59-year-old mayor of Makhachkala, has been in a wheelchair since 1993, when one attempt on his life severed his spine. His southern Russian city is known for frequent bombings and shootouts among police, criminal gangs and Islamic fighters. For six months last year it was home to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the accused Boston Marathon bombers. His parents live there now.

Amirov was seized by troops wearing camouflage, helmets and bulletproof vests and armed with automatic rifles. They surrounded his palatial house on the Caspian Sea, according to a video shown on LifeNews, a Web site that has close connections to the security services. The streets in the neighborhood were blocked by heavy-duty machinery, and troops took cover behind a tall fence, aiming their weapons at the house. Amirov did not resist and was reportedly flown to Moscow by helicopter.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video Shows Boston Bombing Suspects at Gym 72 Hours Before Attack (+video)

/1 Comment/in , /by

Three days before the Boston Marathon bombings, suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were working out together at a Boston gym.

Security cameras captured footage of the brothers arriving at the Wai Kru mixed martial arts center with a friend just before 2:45 p.m. April 12.

The manager at Wai Kru, who wanted to be identified only as Michael, noticed a distinct change in the older brother’s appearance.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s full, bushy religious beard, which he had for about two years, was gone.

Read more from this story HERE.

Father of Shot Man Linked to Boston Suspects Wants FBI Tried

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Abdulbaki Todashev

The father of a Chechen immigrant shot dead during FBI questioning over his links with the Boston bombing suspects said on Thursday that the U.S. agents responsible should face trial.

The FBI has said that Ibragim Todashev, 27, was being interrogated at his apartment in Florida on May 22 when he suddenly attacked an agent and was shot and killed.

Abdulbaki Todashev questioned that account at a news conference in Moscow, saying his son was unarmed when he was shot seven times.

“I want justice and I want there to be an investigation, so that these people are tried under American law,” said Todashev. “These are not FBI agents but bandits – I cannot call them anything else and they must be tried.”

Todashev showed reporters photographs of his son’s shirtless corpse on a medical table with several stitched-up wounds on his torso and arm and one on his head. He said his son had been shot after eight hours of questioning.

Read more from this story HERE.

Smitten Teen Girls Drive Social Media Campaign to Free Boston Marathon Bombings Suspect “Jahar”

/25 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: NY PostThousands of American teen girls are crushing on Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar “Jahar” Tsarnaev, 19 — and leading a social-media movement to exonerate him.

The swooning teens will not accept allegations that the bushy-haired college kid — whom they refer to by his nickname, “Jahar” — and his brother, Tamerlan, 26, killed three and maimed hundreds by setting off bombs at the April 15 race and killed an MIT police officer during the ensuing manhunt.

While some scrawl the hashtag “#FreeJahar” on their hands with markers, an 18-year-old in Topeka, Kansas, is going to the extreme — she wants the Dzhokhar’s words inked on her arm forever.

“Getting one of Jahar’s tweets tattooed on me tomorrow. Guess you could say I’m a #FreeJahar supporter,” “@keepitbluntedd” tweeted on May 7.

The tatted-up teen, Alisha, told The Post she’d soon put Tsarnaev’s April 7 tweet on her upper inside of her arm. It will read, “If you have the knowledge and the inspiration all that’s left is to take action.”

Read more from this story HERE.

No One Wants to Bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev (+video)

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Richard WeirA Worcester funeral home director was scrambling last night to find a cemetery that would bury the marathon bombings mastermind, as protesters jeered outside his door demanding that the bomber’s body be shipped out of the United States.

Emotions ran high outside the Graham, Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlor, which is handling the unenviable task of burying terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

“He should burn in hell,” said Ann Mink of Worcester, who was part of the sign-toting crowd.

Added Theresa Noye: “I would put him on a boat and drop him in the ocean with Osama bin 
Laden.”

Funeral home owner Peter Stefan told the Herald he has reached out to four cemeteries where Muslims are buried and so far all have turned him down. Stefan said it would be impossible to send the body back to Russia and added the family wants Tsarnaev buried in Boston.

Read more from this story HERE.

Boston Bombing Not a ‘Lone Wolf’ Op: 3 More Suspects Arrested, Drove Car with ‘Terrorista’ License Plate (+video)

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: VKontaktBoston Police Announce 3 More Suspects In Custody In Marathon Bombings

By Michael McLaughlin. Three men were arrested on charges that they helped Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after the deadly attacks last month.

Federal prosecutors allege that Dias Kadyrbayev, 19, and Azamat Tazhayakov, 19, tried to conceal and destroy a laptop computer and backpack full of fireworks belonging to Tsarnaev, a friend from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where all three were students at one time. They were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Massachusetts.

A third man, Robel Phillipos, 19, was accused of lying to law enforcement officials, who questioned him about the bombing.

Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov live in New Bedford, but are originally from Kazakhstan. They were already accused of violating the terms of their student visas.

Phillipos is from Cambridge, Mass., where Tsarnaev grew up and attended UMass-Dartmouth with the others. Read more from this story HERE.
___________________________________________________

New Boston suspects drove car with ‘Terrorista #1′ license plate


Two suspects who have been taken into custody in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings drove a car with “Terrorista #1″ printed on the front plate.

Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev were reportedly arrested, along with one other person, for allegedly making false statements and conspiring to obstruct justice during the federal investigation into Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, officials said Wednesday. Read more from this story HERE.

Watch video here:


___________________________________________________

Official: Arrested student entered US without visa

BY Alicia A. Caldwell. One of three college students arrested Wednesday in the Boston Marathon bombings case was allowed to return to the United States from Kazakhstan in January despite not having a valid student visa, a federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Authorities charged the student — a friend and classmate of one of the men accused of setting off the deadly explosions — with helping after the attacks to remove a laptop and backpack from the bombing suspect’s dormitory room before the FBI searched it.

The government acknowledged that U.S. Customs and Border Protection was unaware that the student was no longer in school when he was let back into the United States.

The disclosure was another instance of possible lapses by the federal government in the months before the Boston bombings. The Obama administration earlier this week announced an internal review of how U.S. intelligence agencies shared sensitive information and whether the government could have disrupted the attack. Republicans in Congress have promised oversight hearings starting next week.

Federal authorities on Wednesday arrested three college friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a bombing suspect, including Azamat Tazhayakov, a friend and classmate of Tsarnaev’s at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Tazhayakov left the U.S. in December and returned Jan. 20. But in early January, his student-visa status was terminated because he was academically dismissed from the university, the official told the AP. Read more from this story HERE.