Boston Marathon bombing suspect pleads not guilty

WASHINGTON - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made his first public appearance in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to 30 charges for his alleged role in the tragedy that killed three and hurt over 200 others in April, US media reported.

Tsarnaev, 19, entered his plea on Wednesday in a US federal court in the city of Boston, where the twin bombings on April 15 claimed three lives and injured more than 200 people.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, one of two suspects in the Boston Marathon explosion, is pictured in this undated FBI handout file photo.[Photo/Agencies]

Tsarnaev's first public appearance came nearly two weeks after a federal grand jury in the US state of Massachusetts returned a 30-count indictment against him, including using weapons of mass destruction at the Boston Marathon to kill three Boston Marathon spectators and using a firearm to intentionally kill a local police officer.

Following the Boston Marathon bombing, the FBI identified two brothers, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and 19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev, as suspects behind the Boston bombings.

Four days later, Tamerlan died after a shootout with the police while Dzhokar was apprehended in a suburb of Boston following massive manhunt by law enforcement authorities. The 19-year-old suspect was then rushed to hospital for treatment of serious wounds.

Tsarnaev had his initial court appearance a week after the bombing from his hospital room listening his charges by the federal prosecutors.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) police officers stand outside the federal courthouse for the court appearance by accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, Massachusetts July 10, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]