Russian video showing Tsarnaev inside court removed from Web

By Anush Elbakyan, Boston.com Staff

The video shot and posted by Russian news channel Rossiya 24 briefly shows Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the alleged Boston Marathon bomber, as he made his first public appearance on July 10.

Update: The video was taken down by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday shortly after it was made available on the Web.

The footage was apparently shot off the monitor that was streaming video from inside a courtroom in the John Joseph Moakley US Courthouse. According to a transcript translated from Russian, the reporter goes on saying: "People could watch Tsarnaev's court appearance from the special live stream."

About 1:48 into the video, Tsarnaev was seen wearing an orange prison jumpsuit with a black T-shirt underneath. On his left arm he was also wearing what appeared to be a cast.

Members of the media and general public who were allowed to be inside the courtroom were prohibited from taking video and photographs.

The court released a statement today saying:

"The Court is investigating the surreptitious recording of yesterday's arraignment that was made off a television monitor in a public overflow area. All photography and other recording in the courthouse is a clear violation of our rules and the conditions that restrict the issuance of our media credentials. When the investigation is complete, any member of the media that is found to be responsible for this recording will be subject to appropriate sanctions, which may include having their press credentials revoked."

The alleged Boston Marathon bomber pleaded not guilty to 30 terror charges, some of which carry the possibility of the death penalty.