Petitions may help Kazakhstan students in US court

Tuesday, 10.09.2013, 22:03

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Dias Kadyrbayev's attorney Robert Stahl. ©REUTERS

Letters sent by people from many countries to support the two Kazakhstan students arrested on charges of obstructing justice in the Boston bombing case may be helpful, Dias Kadyrbayev’s attorney Robert Stahl told Tengrinews.kz.

The letters will help the court understand Dias better and ‘humanize’ him, as well as have a positive effect on the American people, creating a proper image of the young man, the lawyer noted. “Dias has already received many support letters from people from around the world who understand that he has nothing to do with the crime. These letters gave him a huge burst of hope and a lot of moral support in this difficult time,” the lawyer said.

The Kazakhstan students are currently kept in individual two-by-three-meter cells in Middletown jail, one hour drive from Boston. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev are not allowed to communicate with each other. They are not allowed out of their cells for walks either.

On September 26, 2013 the defendants and the prosecutors will discuss the duration of the trial and the deadlines for submission of motions. Kadyrbayev’s attorneys plan to submit the Motion to Suppress the testimony given by Dias to FBI. Stahl explained that Kadyrbayev was not timely informed about his constitutional rights by the authorities (a right to remain silent, a right for attorney, a right to stop the interrogation at any time and other rights) and did not provide access to an official from the consulate.

“We believe that the federal authorities were supposed to notify Dias and Azamat on their constitutional rights, but instead they were convinced they were helping the investigation, while in fact the prosecutors were trying to impose charges on them,” the lawyer said. Using Dias’ cooperation, honesty and helpfulness, the authorities turned everything into alleged obstruction of justice.

Kadyrbayev’s defenders will also submit a motion to transfer the trial into a different U.S. state. Earlier Tazhayakov’s attorney, Arkady Bukh, talked about similar plans. “The jury should consider what they hear during the hearing, not what they get from the media. It is difficult to find such people in Boston, while it is more likely, for example, in New York, even though it may be quite difficult as well,” Bukh said on June 9, 2013.

According to Stahl, Kadyrbayev’s defenders are making their own investigation and cooperating it with law-enforcement authorities. “Both clients are accused of the similar crimes,” Stahl said.

Stahl tagged the pre-trial arrest of Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov unjustified, as Dias does not pose any threat to the society. “As for the threat of fleeing the country, if Dias was released on bail during the trial, he would have been subject to all the court rulings, he would be continuing his studies in the U.S. while waiting for the court to justify his innocence. Unfortunately, the student visas of Dias and Azamat were cancelled, as they were no longer enrolled in the university. Of course, they could not be reinstated in the university: they were arrested and accused. Under these circumstances, they would have been arrested by the migration police If released on bail and migration police would now be keeping them in the migration jail for illegal stay in the country. This is a situation with no way out,” Stahl said.

He also said that personnel of the Kazakhstan Embassy consulted the families of Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov, appointed translators for them and helped set up regular communications and obtain permits to visit Dias and Azamat in jail.

The two Kazakhstan students are accused of obstructing U.S. justice in investigation of the Boston bombings. The students have plead not guilty. The next hearing is scheduled for September 26.

For more information see: http://en.tengrinews.kz/crime/Petitions-may-help-Kazakhstan-students-in-US-court-22551/
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Date: 2014-12-29; view: 972