Moscow attack: Russian court indicts 4 men on terrorism charges

Russia has charged four men with attacking a concert hall in Moscow, killing at least 137 people.

Three were marched into a Moscow courtroom hunched over, the fourth in a wheelchair. All were charged with terrorism.

The Islamic State (IS) group said it carried out Friday’s rampage at Crocus City Hall and posted video evidence.

Russian officials claimed Ukraine’s involvement without evidence. Kiev called the claim “irrational.”

Russian authorities named the four people as Dareljon Mirzoev, Saidaklami Murodari Ratchabarizoda, Shamshidin Fariduni, and Muhammad Sobir Faizov.

A video showed three of them being paraded by undercover police into Basmany District Court in the Russian capital.

It looked like everyone had been beaten. Video of the brutal interrogation session was apparently leaked by Russian security forces, and at least one person reportedly received an electric shock.

The men, identified by the court as Mr. Mirzoev and Mr. Ratchabarizoda, had black eyes and the latter’s ear was reportedly heavily bandaged and partially severed during his arrest.

Mirzoev appeared to have a torn plastic bag tied around his neck.

The man, identified as Fariduni, had a severely swollen face, while the man, named Faizov, appeared unconscious as he was taken to court in a wheelchair wearing a thin hospital gown.

According to Reuters, the man appeared to be missing an eye.

All were held in glass booths and undercover police guarded the courtroom.

A court statement posted on the Telegram messaging service said Mr Mirzoev had “admitted his guilt in full” and that Mr Ratchavaridzoda had also “admitted his guilt”.

The men were identified as nationals of Tajikistan, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency said.

The court added that all four will be held in pre-trial detention until at least May 22.

On Friday night, four gunmen stormed the Crocus Town Hall in Krasnogorsk, a northern Moscow suburb, and opened fire on some of the estimated 6,000 people attending a rock concert. The attackers then set fire to the venue, which burned down and caused the roof to collapse.

Russian authorities said 137 people were killed and more than 100 injured.

The men, who appeared in court on Sunday, were arrested in the Bryansk region about 14 hours after the attack, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said. Bryansk is approximately 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Moscow.

IS claimed the attack and released graphic footage of the attackers firing into the crowd inside the concert hall. This video has been confirmed as authentic by his BBC.

However, no Russian official has confirmed this claim, and there is no evidence that the attackers were supported by Ukraine and that Kiev had created a “window” for them to flee across the border into Ukrainian territory. “I was prepared,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denied the claims on Sunday, saying the country’s Military Intelligence Directorate said it was “unsure” to suggest the men were trying to cross a border crowded with hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers in search of safety. It’s ridiculous.”

Adrian Watson, a spokesperson for the US National Security Council, said: “IS was solely responsible for this attack. Ukraine was not involved in any way.”

Seven other people were arrested in Russia on suspicion of taking part in the attack.

The United States earlier this month warned Moscow of a possible attack targeting large gatherings in Russia, and subsequently issued a public advisory to the country’s citizens.

The warning was flatly dismissed by the Kremlin as propaganda and an attempt to interfere in the presidential election.

The US government said after the attack that it had no reason to doubt IS’s claims.

This is not the first time IS and its allies have attacked Russian and foreign interests.

The group claimed to have blown up a Russian plane over Egypt in 2015 with 224 people on board, most of them Russian citizens. He also claimed that in 2017, a bombing occurred in the St. Petersburg metro, killing 15 people.

Security analysts say the group has targeted Russia primarily because of Russia’s role in destroying IS’s power base in Syria while ensuring President Bashar al-Assad’s rule in 1994. He has cited Russia’s two brutal wars in Muslim-majority Chechnya between 2009 and 2009, and that he believes Russia is a key target. Invasion of Afghanistan during the Soviet Union.

IS-K operates primarily in Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, and its name is based on an old terminology for the region.

It is one of the most effective and active Islamic State offshoots, and was responsible for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport during the chaotic US military withdrawal in August and September 2021.

This offshoot frequently criticizes President Vladimir Putin in its propaganda.