BOSTON (AP) - Three friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are due in federal court this week to ask a judge to have their cases tried outside Massachusetts.
Attorneys have filed change of venue motions for Dias Kadyrbayev (DY’-us kah-dur-BY’-ehv), Azamat Tazhayakov (AZ’-maht tuh-ZAY’-uh-kahv) and Robel Phillipos.
Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov are Kazakhstan nationals charged with taking Tsarnaev’s laptop computer and a backpack containing fireworks from his college dorm room after last year’s deadly bombing.
Phillipos, of Cambridge, is accused of lying to investigators. They have pleaded not guilty. Tazhayakov
Their lawyers say they can’t receive fair trials in Massachusetts because of intensive media coverage. Prosecutors oppose the request.
Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges in the bombing. Three people were killed and more than 260 were wounded.
Pretrial hearings are scheduled to begin Tuesday.
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