REVERE — The Saudi Arabian man whose apartment was searched by Boston Marathon bombing investigators is not a person of interest in the continuing search for the persons responsible for Monday’s terrorist attack.
“He has been checked out,’’ said a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. “He is not involved. He is just a victim.’’
Earlier today, Mohammed Bodawood, told the Globe he doubted there was a link between his roommmate and the bombings.
“I don’t think he could do that,’’ Bodawood told the Globe.
Bodawood described the man as a devout Muslim who is 20 years old and a fan of soccer.
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Also earlier today, a spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington said US officials had told the embassy Monday night that the man was not a suspect and was cooperating with the investigation.
“He’s been fully cooperating with authorities. We were informed by US authorities that no Saudi is a suspect,” said Nail Aljubeir.
“We want to know about it [the investigation] as much as everybody else. “We’re working very closely with US authorities on this. As of yesterday, we were informed that there were no Saudi suspects. He’s more a witness than anything else,” he said.
Aljubeir lamented that some news organizations published reports that a Saudi was a suspect, saying it endangered people at a time when Saudi-US relations are improving in part because of a concentrated effort to send more Saudi students to study in the United States and get to know America.
“It is a concern,” he said. “We’re concerned about the backlash against students based on a false story.”
Steven A. Rosenberg can be reached at srosenberg@globe.com.