Boston Bombing Suspects’ Father Postpones U.S. Trip Due To Illness

Anzor Tsarnaev, father to Boston bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has postponed his trip back to the United States due to his poor health and because he “can’t help [his] child in any way.”

The 46-year-old had previously planned a trip to the United States, but changed his mind when his blood pressure spiked to dangerous levels. “I am really sick,” Tsarnaev said Sunday.

On Thursday, Tsarnaev was intending to leave within days for the United States in order to see his imprisoned younger son Dzhokhar, and to bury his elder son, Tamerlan, who was killed in a firefight with police last week.

According to Reuters, Tsarnaev’s reasons for changing his mind about a U.S. trip are a bit more defeatist. They spoke with him from an undisclosed North Caucasus location, where he said: “Unfortunately, I can’t help my child in any way. I am in touch with Dzhokhar’s and my own lawyers. They told me they would let me know (what to do).”

Tsarnaev did not say whether or not he had been hospitalized for his illness. He and the suspects’ mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, returned to Russia last year, settling in Makhachkala, Dagestan, where her relatives live.

Both have been questioned by reporters and U.S. investigators intensively during the past week. The couple left Dagestan on Friday, and their exact whereabouts are unknown, but Tsarnaev did tell AP reporters that he was in Chechnya on Sunday.

His son, Dzhokhar, was captured and has been charged in connection with the April 15 Boston bombing that killed three people and wounded 264.

[Image via: Aaron Tang, Wikimedia Commons]