Friends of bombing suspect in immigration court

5/1/2013

BOSTON — Lawyers for two men friendly with the Boston Marathon bombing suspect say their clients have been extensively interviewed by federal investigators.

Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, both originally from Kazakhstan, appeared via video for a visa violation hearing in immigration court in Boston today.

They have been held in a county jail for more than a week on allegations that they violated their student visas while attending the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The marathon attack was not mentioned in court and their cases were continued.

Their attorneys said afterward that authorities have not indicated their clients had anything to do with the bombings. Federal authorities would not comment.

Attorney Robert Stahl said Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were drawn to Tsarnaev because he also spoke Russian.