The selection of a jury has begun for the trail of a man who is accused of lying to authorities investigating the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013.

Robel Phillipos has been charged with making false statements to police when questioned on his whereabouts three days after the bombing, The Associated Press said in a report. Police say Phillipos and two other men were in alleged bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's dorm room on April 18, 2013.

The two other men who police say were in the dorm room, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, removed a laptop and backpack from Tsarnaev's dormitory. Both have been convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Phillipos is charged with the lesser crime of making false statements and he is not accused of removing anything from the dorm room. He faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted, Reuters reported.

Also facing charges of lying to investigators is Khairullozhon Matanov, who was arrested in May for playing down his relationship with Tsarnaev when he came to police and identified photos of the suspected bombers. His trial has yet to begin.

None of the three men accused of going to Tsarnaev's dorm room are suspected of the Boston Marathon bombing, which happened on April 15, 2013, near the finish line of the race, killing three people and hurting 260 others.

Authorities said that Tsarnaev and older brother Tamerlan killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, as they were trying to leave the city on April 18, 2013. Tamerlan died later than night in a gun battle with police.

Dzhokhar escaped and took shelter in a boat in the backyard of a suburban Boston house. Police found him after a day-long manhunt, which saw almost the whole of Boston on lockdown.

The surviving Tsarnaev brother could face execution if he is convicted during a trial set to begin in January.