Bombers' Family

From the CBC:
"Family of accused bombers divided over allegations"

The family of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev vehemently disagree over the possibility of their relatives' role in the Boston Marathon bombings. Dzhokhar was detained Friday night after a lengthy manhunt. His brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, died earlier following a shootout with police after a carjacking and robbery. After U.S. authorities identified the brothers as primary suspects in Monday's bombings, a conflicting portrait began to emerge of two young men who appeared to fit into their American lives, but experts say social isolation in an unfamiliar culture may have led them to turn to radical Islam. Family members are unsure what to believe. Some are demanding evidence that the two men they claim are not highly religious were involved in the attack. Others are denouncing the pair, saying they brought shame to the family name. The brothers and their extended family are ethnic Chechens. The boys' uncle, Ruslan Tsarni (61), held a press conference to speak with reporters camping out on his property. He called the people responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings "losers," suggesting it may be his nephews who are responsible. He said he had not spoken to the pair since Dec. 2005 due to a private family fight. However, yesterday, one of the men called him and reconciled. Ruslan's brother, Alvi Tsarni, told media the nephews would send Ruslan threatening messages. Once, on the phone, one of the men tried to convince Alvi that if he was manly, he would join the men in their fight. Tsarni offered his condolences to the victims of the bombings, and called on the surviving nephew to surrender to police and ask for forgiveness. He said he can only think of two reasons someone could commit such an atrocitiy: "Being losers [and] hatred to those who were able to settle themselves." Tsarni said he had no inclination the men had anti-American sentiments, and said his family is ashamed of their alleged actions. "Of course we're ashamed. Yes, we're ashamed," he said. "They're children of my brother." However, he stresses his brother could not be responsible for feeding them anti-American beliefs. Anzor worked tirelessly to feed his family, spending lots of his time fixing cars at mechanic shops, Tsarni said. The Wall Street Journal reports Anzor dreamed of opening his own shop, but never mastered English and struggled working odd mechanic jobs for about $10 an hour. Anzor, the father of the suspects, says that Dzhokhar is a smart and accomplished young man. One of their sisters, Alina Tsarnaeva, reluctantly echoed this sentiment about both her brothers to reporters from The Star-Ledger of Newark. They spoke to her at her apartment while she stood behind a slightly opened door. Alina called Dzhokhar "an amazing child" and Tamerlan "a kind and loving man."She said she does not know if her brothers are behind Monday's bombings because "at the end of the day, no one knows the truth." While he wants his son to give up peacefully, Anzor told ABC News that if the U.S. kills Dzhokhar, "all hell will break loose." He said his sons called him earlier this week and reassured him they were okay. An Interfax correspondent has also spoken to a man claiming to be Anzor, who said he learned about the incident from TV reports. "My opinion is the special services have framed my children, because they are practicing Muslims. Why did they kill Tamerlan? He was supposed to be caught alive," the man said. Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, their mother, told CNN she believed this was a setup. She said it was "impossible" her sons did this because they would never hide this type of activity from her. Tsarnaeva also told CNN that her older son, Tamerlan, got involved in religious politics about five years ago. She told the U.S. network she believed the FBI had consulted her son. She said the FBI knew what her son was doing and said they knew what sites on the internet he was visiting. A federal law enforcement official said the FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaevt at the request of a foreign government in 2011 and that nothing derogatory was found, The Associated Press reported. The FBI shared its information with the foreign government, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case publicly. The official did not say what country made the request about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, or why. Their paternal aunt, Maret, told CBC news she believed her nephews are innocent and demanded proof of their guilt. She also believes Tamerlan is still alive. "They have no motive for that," she said. "It's just not the case, it cannot be true." Ratelle dismissed the family's claims of a setup as a "typical narrative" from Chechen families when faced with a shameful situation. He said Chechen society is based on honour and shame, and it can be seen as very shameful to be related to suicide bombers. So, this may be the family's coping mechanism for rejecting the shame associated with the men's actions. All the family members who have spoken publicly seem to agree that Dzhokhar should surrender peacefully, though some say he should beg for forgiveness, while others say he should demand to see any alleged proof of his guilt.

^ This article was written before the last terrorist was caught, but it shows the delusion that most of the family is dealing with. Not only are the bombers' parents unable or unwilling to accept the facts but also the older brother's wife. The parents both didn't seem surprised that the older brother was involved, but were about the younger one. Along with that the older brother's American wife (who converted to Islam after marrying him) seems to be either completely in denial or covering-up since she lived in the same house as the bomber and their child. I don't know why the FBI didn't question the wife and the bombers' sisters much sooner (right after they were identified.) It seems that the only person in all of this who truly cares that justice be done is the uncle, Ruslan Tsarni. Hopefully he is being truthful and can help the Government get to the bottom of all this since the wife and the parents don't seem to be doing anything to help. ^

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/04/19/boston-marathon-bombing-suspect-profile.html