Trump calls for death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber

Donald Trump demanded on Sunday that the perpetrator of the Boston Marathon bombing be sentenced to death again, criticizing the recent overturn of his sentence by an appeals court.

"So many lives lost or ruined" : the death penalty "has rarely been so deserved" as for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, tweeted the US president, who is leading a re-election campaign focused on "firmness". "The federal government must again call for the death penalty (...) our country cannot leave the appeal decision in force", he said.

Citing in particular problems in the selection of jurors, a federal court of appeals in Boston on Friday overturned part of the judgment of Djokhar Tsarnaev and referred his case to a court of first instance for a re-examination. Whatever the outcome, he will remain sentenced, at a minimum, to life imprisonment.

Read also: Dzhokhar Tsarnayev found guilty of the Boston attacks

A student of Chechen origin, he was sentenced to death in June 2015 for having planted, with his older brother, Tamerlan, two homemade bombs near the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing three and injuring 264. His defense has always claimed that the young man, aged 19 at the time (27 today), was under the influence of his eldest.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed by law enforcement three days after the attack, following a manhunt in the suburbs of Boston. While on the run the two brothers shot dead a policeman.