Boston:
US investigators may get some information from one of Osama bin Laden's wives, who is a teacher and "highly educated", according to a woman who describes herself as a close friend of bin Laden's son.
Jean Sasson, who helped bin Laden's son, Omar, write a memoir 'Growing Up Bin Laden', said the wives of the Al Qaeda leader were "confined" and "all business" was kept away from them. "If they (wives) even asked him, he would refuse to discuss it," Sasson told CNN."If any man came into the house to meet with them, these women would not have been allowed to see them, know who they were or show their faces. But (living) with him in the house in close quarters, there's an opportunity that they would know more of the comings and goings."
Sasson said the wives, who are in Pakistani custody since the May 2 raid that killed bin Laden, may only be able to share "a few tidbits" with authorities.
When asked if the wives would be willing to share information with US investigators, Sasson said, "possibly the one who is highly educated... because she was ... a teacher and she was highly educated. Quite possible they might be able to reason with her."
As for bin Laden's young Yemeni wife, Sasson said she doubted "seriously" that investigators would be able to get "anything" from her as she was "very uneducated and so devoted to him."
She also said bin Laden's relatives want proof that he is dead and are calling for an investigation into how he was killed. The family "just really wants some answers. And they would just really like to know what exactly happened, why they weren't called."
She said the family had wanted to be able to "see" the body and given a chance to "at least identify the body."
Sasson added that Omar had hoped that there either be a truce between his father and the US authorities or that bin Laden would be "put on trial like Saddam".
Omar was "probably the only person around Osama who was brave enough to actually argue with him about the path he had taken... He actually had a couple screaming matches with his father about this kind of negotiation. He said there's a way to talk people and there's a way to do things. You should never kill anyone who is innocent," Sasson recalled.