Surviving Boston bombs suspect charged as he lies in hospital bed
Source: Agencies |
April 23, 2013, Tuesday
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US officials brought charges against Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzohkhar Tsarnaev as he lay in his hospital bed yesterday, a federal court official said.
"There has been a sealed complaint filed," said Gary Wente, circuit executive for the US Courts for the First Circuit, who said that a magistrate judge was present when Tsarnaev was charged in Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.
The White House has insisted the surviving suspect in the Boston bombings would not be treated as an "enemy combatant" but would be tried through the US civilian justice system.
"He will not be treated as an enemy combatant," said White House spokesman Jay Carney, following calls from some Republicans for 19-year-old Tsarnaev to be granted the same status as "War on Terror" detainees.
"We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice," Carney said, arguing that US law prohibited a US citizen being tried in the military court system.
Carney said that since the September 11, 2001 attacks the US government had repeatedly and successfully used civilian courts to try terror suspects.
"The system has repeatedly proven that it can successfully handle the threat we continue to face," Carney said.
Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have led calls for the teenager to be declared an "enemy combatant," which would give him the same status as detainees held at the Guantanamo military prison.
Tsarnaev is currently being treated in hospital for injuries including a throat wound, but has reportedly been communicating with a special investigation team, which handles high value targets, by writing.
"There have been widely published reports that he is (communicating silently). I wouldn't dispute that, but I don't have any specific information on that myself," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told CNN. "We're very anxious to talk to him and the investigators will be doing that as soon as possible."
The 19-year-old was initially not read his legal rights or offered access to a lawyer, after officials invoked a special exception for security reasons.
But the White House statement on his status means he will be processed through the civilian courts.
The badly wounded suspect was charged as the city of Boston planned tributes to the dead after a week of blasts, shootouts, lockdowns and one of the largest manhunts in US history.
"There has been a sealed complaint filed," said Gary Wente, circuit executive for the US Courts for the First Circuit, who said that a magistrate judge was present when Tsarnaev was charged in Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.
The White House has insisted the surviving suspect in the Boston bombings would not be treated as an "enemy combatant" but would be tried through the US civilian justice system.
"He will not be treated as an enemy combatant," said White House spokesman Jay Carney, following calls from some Republicans for 19-year-old Tsarnaev to be granted the same status as "War on Terror" detainees.
"We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice," Carney said, arguing that US law prohibited a US citizen being tried in the military court system.
Carney said that since the September 11, 2001 attacks the US government had repeatedly and successfully used civilian courts to try terror suspects.
"The system has repeatedly proven that it can successfully handle the threat we continue to face," Carney said.
Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have led calls for the teenager to be declared an "enemy combatant," which would give him the same status as detainees held at the Guantanamo military prison.
Tsarnaev is currently being treated in hospital for injuries including a throat wound, but has reportedly been communicating with a special investigation team, which handles high value targets, by writing.
"There have been widely published reports that he is (communicating silently). I wouldn't dispute that, but I don't have any specific information on that myself," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told CNN. "We're very anxious to talk to him and the investigators will be doing that as soon as possible."
The 19-year-old was initially not read his legal rights or offered access to a lawyer, after officials invoked a special exception for security reasons.
But the White House statement on his status means he will be processed through the civilian courts.
The badly wounded suspect was charged as the city of Boston planned tributes to the dead after a week of blasts, shootouts, lockdowns and one of the largest manhunts in US history.
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