Reports from US indicate that a Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday pleaded not guilty on all charges in connection with the April attacks, some of which could carry the death penalty.
Tsarnaev, making his first court appearance, entered the federal courtroom in Boston in handcuffs, shackles and wearing an orange jumpsuit. His arm in a cast and his face swollen, Tsarnaev also appeared to have a jaw injury and facial swelling.
“Not guilty,” said the 19-year-old ethnic Chechen, as each of the 30 counts against him – 17 of which carry the death penalty – were read out at the brief, seven-minute-long arraignment.
The heavily guarded courtroom was packed with emotional victims of the bombings at the Boston Marathon finish line, some of whom needed canes to walk. Their families, police officers, and members of the public and the media were also in attendance.
The attacks stunned America with scenes of carnage and chaos at one of the country’s premier sporting events. The bombs were packed with metal fragments to cause maximum damage, and several people lost one or more limbs.
Tsarnaev is accused of plotting and carrying out the attacks with his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan, who died in a shootout with police as the pair tried to escape the Boston area several days later.
He is also charged in connection with the shooting death of a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the brothers’ overnight getaway attempt.
wirestory
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