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April 23rd, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could face the death penalty or life imprisonment if
convicted on the federal
terrorism charges, the Department of Justice said.
He was charged
as he lay under armed guard in his hospital bed with using a “weapon
of mass destruction” in the attacks that killed three people and injured
more than 200.
During the short bedside hearing he uttered what is believed to be his first
word since his arrest, replying “No” when asked if he could afford
a lawyer.
The affidavit contained chilling new details about how he calmly waited for
the first bomb to explode before walking away from the backpack that
allegedly contained the second explosive device – getting out of harm’s way
with just seconds to spare.
The White House earlier rejected calls by leading Republicans for Tsarnaev to
be charged as an enemy combatant under the military tribunal system that is
used to prosecute foreign terror militants.
Boston Charge (PDF)
Boston Charge (Text)
Jay Carney, the spokesman for President Barack Obama, said that under US law,
an American citizen cannot be tried by military commissions. Tsarnaev, an
ethnic Chechen, moved to American with his family in 2002 and became a
citizen on Sept 11 last year.
A week after the attacks at the Boston marathon, a federal judge established
jurisdiction for a temporary court for Tsarnaev in the hospital room where
he is being treated for serious gunshot injuries he sustained before his
capture on Friday night. According to the complaint, he suffered injuries to
his “head, neck, leg and hand”.
The complaint filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations charged Tsarnaev
with two preliminary counts: use of a weapon of mass destruction – the legal
term deployed for the home-made pressure cooker bomb – and malicious
destruction of property resulting in death. Further charges are expected to
be brought as the investigation proceeds.
In the accompanying affidavit, FBI special agent Daniel Genck laid out how
Tsarnaev and brother Tamerlan, 26, who died after a shoot-out with police,
were identified from surveillance video and photographs taken near the
finish line of the Boston marathon.
The chronology reveals the chilling composure demonstrated by the brothers as
they allegedly conducted the final stages of their murderous mission.
At 2.45pm, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is seen arriving at the site of the second bomb
and placing his backpack at his feet. As the crowds watched the race,
Tsarnaev glanced at his mobile phone and at one stage apparently took a
picture with it.
Approximately 30 seconds before the first blast, he lifts the phone to his
appear for a conversation that lasted 18 seconds. Just after the call, those
around him all turn their heads in shock and bewilderment towards the
location when the first bomb explodes at 2.49pm.
Tsarnaev “virtually alone… appears calm”, the affidavit starts. Only then
does he rapidly walk away without his bag. Just 10 seconds later, the second
blast ripped through the spectators.
The complaint also detailed how the two men allegedly car-jacked a motorist on
Thursday night in suburban Boston, shortly after the FBI released pictures
of them as suspects. The older Tsarnaev jumped into the car, pointed a
handgun at the driver and said: “Did you hear about the Boston explosion?”
and “I did that”.
The two forced the man to withdraw cash from his bank account at an ATM but
then he managed to escape when they both got out of the car at a petrol
station.
The affidavit states that three more unexploded home-made bombs were recovered
from the scene of the later shoot-out with police, including anotherr
pressure cooker device containing nails and ball-bearings.
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