After two Kazakhstan citizens were charged in the Boston Marathon bombing case, the country’s foreign ministry said it is cooperating with the U.S. in the investigation, Reuters reported.
Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, friends of bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were charged on Wednesday in connection to the case. Accounting to the criminal complaint, Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev have been accused of “knowingly destroying, concealing, and covering up” items belonging to Tsarnaev “with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence” the investigation.
“We would like to emphasize that our citizens did not receive charges of involvement in the organization of Boston marathon bombings,” the foreign ministry said in a written statement posted online. “They were charged with destroying evidence.”
The statement continued:
At present, our citizens receive the necessary consular assistance. Their guilt has not been proven and the investigation is ongoing. Both Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov cooperate with the investigative bodies and provide them assistance.
As we have repeatedly stressed, Kazakhstan strongly condemns any form of terrorism. The Kazakhstan side is cooperating with the U.S. law enforcement bodies in their investigation.
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