- Title: Relatives of Russian metro bombing suspect refuse to believe he was involved
- Date: 18th April 2017
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) BROTHER OF ABROR AZIMOV, BILOL AZIMOV, SAYING: "He is a normal person, nothing like that happened before. I don't know. If one watches the video (of detention) attentively, you can clearly see that it was set up. In the beginning they come from the back, place something, then the video is cut, then shows him again. If one watches attentively, it is obvious. He could not do that. Because we grew up together. He just could not do that." YARD (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) BROTHER OF ABROR AZIMOV, BILOL AZIMOV, SAYING: "He tried to come here or somewhere else where salaries are higher. He tried to go to Korea. There is not enough jobs here and salaries are low. That's why he was working there, he didn't have other options. He always needed money to take care of a big family. He needed to build a house and to repair everything. So they didn't have time for that (to organise a crime), and not even time to go somewhere. He didn't even have time to socialise with anybody." TERRACE (SOUNDBITE) (Uzbek) MOTHER OF ABROR AZIMOV, VAZIRA MIRZAKHMEDOVA, SAYING: "I will never believe it. My children have never quarrelled with each other. We had a good upbringing in our family. I don't believe it. I know that my son will be acquitted very soon. My son was just set up." WOMEN WALKING ALONG NEIGHBOURHOOD STREET CHILDREN PLAYING NEXT TO CARS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) NEIGHBOUR OF ABROR AZIMOV, NARGIZA ZAKIROVA, SAYING: "I cannot say anything bad about him, and not just about him, but also about his family. He has brothers, they are very good guys. They are good neighbours, they do only good things to all their neighbours. For example, if we have some problems we go to them as neighbours, and they never refuse to help, they always help when they can." STREET PEOPLE WALKING CARS DRIVING ALONG ROAD MEN CROSSING ROAD VARIOUS OF CARS DRIVING
- Embargoed: 2nd May 2017 19:21
- Keywords: Russia St Petersburg metro blast suicide bombing bomb Kyrgyzstan suspect Jalal-Abad
- Location: JALAL-ABAD, KYRGYZSTAN
- City: JALAL-ABAD, KYRGYZSTAN
- Country: Kyrgyzstan
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
- Reuters ID: LVA0036CXGAX3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Relatives of Abror Azimov, the man Russian investigators say orchestrated a suicide bombing on the St. Petersburg metro, said on Tuesday (April 18) he could not have been involved into the crime.
Speaking in his native town of Jalal-Abad in the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan, his mother Vazira Mirzakhmedova said she "will never believe it", claiming that he was "set up".
Russian investigators said that before the April 3 attack in which 14 people were killed and scores injured the suspected suicide bomber, Akbarzhon Jalilov, had spoken by telephone with Abror Azimov, who the investigators said was helping mastermind the attack from a Moscow suburb.
At a preliminary court hearing in Moscow on Tuesday Azimov said he had participated in the preparation of the attack but only indirectly. He told a court he was an unwitting accomplice in the attack. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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