(VOVworld)- Boston Marathon bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to all charges in his first court appearance, as blast victims looked on. Mr Tsarnaev, 19, faces 30 counts of using a weapon of mass destruction in the two 15 April blasts that killed three, including an eight-year-old boy.

Tsarnaev appeared in court with his face swollen and his arm in a cast Photo: Reuters)

He appeared in shackles and an orange prison suit, and replied "not guilty" as the charges were read to the court. Prosecutors could press for the death penalty for 17 counts.

The suspect has also been charged over the death of a fourth person, a university police officer, who was allegedly shot dead by Mr Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan in the days after the attack. He is also charged in a carjacking incident and with downloading internet material from Islamist radicals some time before the blasts.