Girlfriend of Alleged Tamerlan Tsarnaev Accomplice Arrested in Florida

Tatiana Gruzdeva, the girlfriend of Ibragim Todashev—the man shot by the FBI just after allegedly implicating himself and marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a 2011 triple murder in Waltham—has been arrested in Florida by Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a collect call from Glades County Jail, where she said she is being held in solitary confinement, Tatiana Gruzdeva said that immigration officers told her she was being deported because of her interviews with Boston magazine.

The Glades County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Gruzdeva is being held in the county jail.

Gruzdeva, 19, said she had gone to sign work papers at the local immigrations office at 11 p.m. Tuesday. She had been waiting for weeks for the work authorization form that would allow her to earn a living. Instead, she said, she was taken aside and arrested. “They said it’s because of interview,” she said. “I’m in the room by myself,” she said repeatedly, crying.

Gruzdeva gave an exclusive interview to Boston magazine on September 18, in which she shared details of Todashev’s last days before being shot by the FBI. She told of learning of his death in May while being held in solitary confinement by immigration officials, part of a months-long detention. She was finally released in August, her visa extended for a year. She also broke the news to Boston magazine that her friend and roommate, Ashurmamad Miraliev—who had also been friends with Todashev—had been arrested and questioned by the FBI.

The Council on American Islamic Relations then issued a press release condemning Miraliev’s arrest and alleging that the FBI denied Miraliev’s requests for an attorney while questioning him about Todashev for six hours. The arrest, CAIR alleged, was part of the FBI’s systematic harassment of Todashev’s friends.

An ICE representative could not be reached due to the federal shutdown.