Uncle Arranging Burial Rites for Boston Terrorist

The uncle of Boston Marathon terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev arrived in Massachusetts on Sunday to arrange for his burial, saying he understands that “no one wants to associate their names with such evil events.”

Ruslan Tsarni, of Montgomery Village, Md., and three of his friends met with the Worcester funeral home director and prepared to bury the body. The 26-year-old died after a gun battle with police on April 19.

Funeral director Peter Stefan said he hasn’t been able to find a cemetery in Massachusetts willing to take the body. He said he plans to ask the city of Cambridge, where Tsarnaev lived, to provide a burial plot, and if Cambridge turns him down, he will seek help from state officials.

Tsarni told reporters that he is arranging for Tsarnaev’s burial because religion and tradition call for his nephew to be buried. He would like him buried in Massachusetts because he’s lived in the state for the last decade, he said.

“I’m dealing with logistics. A dead person must be buried,” he said.

A half-dozen protesters gathered outside the funeral home Sunday holding signs and American flags and chanting, “USA!” One sign read: “Do not bury him on U.S. soil.”

Several people drove by the funeral home earlier Sunday and yelled, including one man who shouted, “Throw him off a boat like Osama bin Laden!”

The state medical examiner ruled that Tsarnaev died from gunshot wounds and blunt trauma to the head and torso, and authorities have said his brother ran him over in a chaotic getaway attempt.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the May 6th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.