MOSCOW, March 5 (RAPSI) – The defense lawyer for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Judy Clarke, has told the jury that her client was involved in Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, Business Insider reported on Wednesday.

“It was him”, she said. However, defense lawyers claim that Dzhokhar was under strong influence of his elder brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who allegedly was the mastermind behind the attacks. Clarke condemned the bombings as “senseless, horribly misguided acts”, but asked the jury to consider whether Dzhokhar should be executed for his actions, Business Insider reported.

“…you will hear evidence about the kind of influence that this older brother had," Clarke told the jury.

Prosecutors have presented a video made at the site of bombings showing graphic aftermath of the explosions. . "He [Dzhokhar Tsarnaev] believed that he was a soldier in a holy war against Americans. He also believed that by winning that victory, he had taken a step toward reaching paradise", prosecutor William Weinreb said. Prosecutors have also called for the testimony of several victims, some of them disfigured, who have recollected their memories of the attacks, Boston Insider reported.

Jury for the case was finally selected on Tuesday.

On the afternoon of April 15, 2013, two explosions occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. IEDs devised from pressure cookers, low explosive powder, shrapnel, adhesive, and other materials were hidden in backpacks that were then placed near metal barricades in areas packed with hundreds of spectators.

Tsarnaev was arrested following a dramatic manhunt during which his brother and co-suspect Tamerlan was killed, as was MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. Tsarnaev was charged on April 21 with the use of a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death.

US prosecutors filed their notice of intent to pursue the death penalty against Tsarnaev on January 30, 2014. The government is seeking the death penalty for the accused.

Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 criminal counts.