Tengrinews.kz interviews father of Kazakhstan student detained in Boston

Murat Kadyrbayev, father of one of the Kazakhstan students detained in Boston, gave an exclusive interview to Tengrinews.kz and STV channel. He confirmed that his son Dias and Azamat Tazhayakov, his son’s friend, were questioned by U.S. police as witnesses in relation to the Boston Marathon bombings. No charges were brought against the students. They were questioned about their ties with Boston bombing suspects Dzokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev brothers and then released after about 12 hours. Later both students were detained again, but this time for violation of the U.S. migration legislation. Now they are awaiting a trial that would decide whether they stay in the United States or return to Kazakhstan. Murat Kadyrbayev expressed condolences to all the victims of the Boston bombings at the finish line of the Marathon that claimed the lives of 3 people and injured 144. He said he was ready to aid in the investigation of the terrorist acts in any way possible and render support to the U.S. authorities. Speaking about his son, he said that the only violation his son could have possibly committed was a migration violation. It is a case with student visas that when a foreign student misses classes it is considered a violation of student visa terms. According to Murat Kadyrbayev, Dias and Azamat “missed a couple or maybe several classes. I hope that American police will look into the facts and make the right decision. Most of the students who came in contact with Tsarnayev are being checked now, my son is not the only one. Nobody is an exception.” “They used to have common friends, they knew Tsarnaev and hang around together sometimes. They were released in the end and were questioned only as witnesses,” Kadyrbayev said. Kadyrbayev said that like all bright young man his son was a creative person. Dias liked music and composed his own songs. “Since early school years he was very self-consistent. He graduated from high school with excellent marks, he is especially good at math and he helps others study,” Kadyrbayev said. He liked sports: snowboarding in winder and tennis in summer. Kadyrbayev said that he was positively characterized by his schoolteachers and then successfully entered an American university on his own initiative. Dias’ father confirmed that the students from Kazakhstan indeed owned the BMW with the provocative license plate that was on the photo all over the Internet. He said that Dias and Azamat bought the car together some time ago. Kadyrbayev said that the individualized license plate was a joke gift from their friends in Spain. “This joke led to trouble. But it was just a gag of their Spanish friends, just a gift.” They needed the car to get to their university and go to other places. The Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan is now rendering aid to the detained students. “I would like to thank the Foreign Ministry for their help and especially thank Yerlan Kubashev who is supervising the issue and keeps in touch with us,” Kadyrbayev said adding that Dias’ family had found a lawyer to represent the boys in court. By Alisher Akhmetov