RIHLA #27- Boston Marathon Bombings and Human Rights

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The Boston Marathon Bombings occured on April 15th 2013, when two explosions killed and injured many people at a marathon in Boston, Massachusetts. Runners from different countries all over the world attended the marathon with their friends and family, only to have two weapons of mass destruction explode and make the day tragically unforgettable. Furthermore, the suspects responsible these acts of violence, Dzhokhar Tsnareav, who was killed during a shooting , and Tamerlan Tsnareav, who was captured and taken into custody, are seen as terrorists by many people worldwide.

Through this unimaginable incident, many human rights were violated and protected. The bombing itself violated the human right against torturing people, since many people lost limbs and witnessed traumatic events. Additionally, the people of Boston and of America were in a state of intense fear for a short period after the bombings, when the suspects were not yet identified or captured,which can be seen as torturous. Another right that was violated was the ability to assemble. One could argue that the marathon was an assembly because many people were uniting in order to participate in the marathon. The fact that these explosions interfered greatly with the marathon violates the purpose of being able to assemble freely without fear of being attacked by anyone. Since the Tsarnaev brothers were held responsible for their actions during the bombing, their right to responsibility was fulfilled;therefore, anyone who commits a crime should face the consequences for that action, but should remain innocent until proven guilty. Due to the emotional and physical distress of America after the bombing, one may say that the right of innocent until proven guilty right was violated for the Tsarnaev brothers because they were already blamed by the media for the explosions, yet they were not proven guilty with a proper legal trial.

My intial thoughts on this issue as it was unfolding was disbelief that an event of this magnitude could occur. As I was watching the news on the day of the bombing, I was reminded of 9/11, when two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York. Through this, I came to the realization that two major attacks occured in America during my lifetime. This saddens me and I do think the American government is doing the best that they can in regards to keeping this nation safe; however, I do not think events similar to nine eleven and the Boston Marathon will cease to continue because everyone has different beliefs on how to solve an issue, which can lead to these kind of events. A solution to this problem is very difficult to purpose because there are a lot of possibilites, yet many people may not want to put in the time and effort to make them a possibility. For the time being, the best action we can take as a nation is to stay united, support every state in our nation, and be precautious with any suspicious activity by cooperating with authority.

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