Katherine Russell Tsarnaev hires attorney Joshua Dratel who defended Guantanamo Bay detainees

Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, the widow of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has retained legal counsel Joshua Dratel, who has an extensive client roster of suspected and convicted terrorists.

Katherine Russell added attorney Joshua Dratel to her legal team, her Rhode Island-based lawyer Amato DeLuca said on Wednesday.

New York lawyer Joshua Dratel, whose office in Downtown Manhattan is just blocks away from Ground Zero, previously defended Guantanamo Bay detainees and suspects in the bombings of the U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, 24, has been under increased scrutiny ever since federal officials found radical Islamist materials on her laptop, including the al Qaeda magazine Inspire.

Investigators also found traces of explosive residue in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, home Katherine Russell had shared with her late husband Tamerlan Tsarnaev and their 3-year-old daughter, Zahara.

Katherine Russell’s defense team said in a statement that she “plans to continue to meet with investigators, part of a series of meetings over many hours where she has answered questions”.