Russia has formally accused four men of carrying out an attack on a Moscow concert hall, resulting in the deaths of at least 137 people.
Three individuals were escorted into a Moscow court, with three of them forced to walk bent double by masked police officers, while the fourth was confined to a wheelchair. They all faced charges of committing an act of terrorism.
The Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack at Crocus City Hall on Friday and shared video evidence. Russian officials have accused Ukraine of involvement, though Kyiv has denounced the claim as “absurd.”
The four individuals identified by Russian authorities are Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni, and Muhammadsobir Fayzov.
Videos circulating online show signs of physical abuse on the defendants, suggesting brutal interrogation sessions conducted by Russian security forces. Reports indicate that at least one of them had endured electric shocks.
Mirzoyev and Rachabalizoda displayed black eyes, and the latter had a heavily bandaged ear, reportedly partially severed during his arrest. Mirzoyev also appeared to have a torn plastic bag wrapped around his neck.
Fariduni’s face was visibly swollen, and Fayzov, brought into court in a wheelchair wearing a thin hospital gown, appeared to have lost consciousness, with Reuters reporting that he was missing an eye.
All of them were confined to a glass-panelled booth and were under the guard of masked police throughout their court appearance.
According to a court statement shared on the Telegram messaging service, Mirzoyev “fully confessed his guilt,” while Rachabalizoda also “acknowledged guilt.”
Tass, Russia’s state news agency, identified the men as citizens of Tajikistan.
The court announced that all four individuals would remain in pre-trial detention until at least May 22.
On Friday night, four assailants stormed Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, a northern suburb of Moscow, and opened fire on some of the approximately 6,000 attendees of a rock concert. The attackers also ignited fires that engulfed the venue, leading to the collapse of the roof.
Russian authorities reported that 137 people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
The individuals who appeared in court on Sunday were apprehended in the Bryansk region approximately 14 hours after the attack, as stated by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Bryansk is approximately 400km (250 miles) southwest of Moscow.
Although IS has claimed responsibility for the attack and released graphic footage of the assailants firing on the crowd inside the concert hall—a video verified as authentic by the BBC—no Russian official has acknowledged the claim. Instead, officials have suggested, without evidence, that the attackers received assistance from Ukraine and that Kyiv had facilitated their escape across the border into Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuffed these claims on Sunday, and his military intelligence directorate dismissed the notion as “absurd,” asserting that it was implausible for the men to attempt to cross a heavily mined border swarming with hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers to seek refuge.
Adrienne Watson, the US national security council spokeswoman, said that IS bore “sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever”.
Seven other people have been arrested in Russia suspected of aiding the attack.
Russia in IS crosshairs
The Kremlin swiftly dismissed the alert as propaganda and an attempt to interfere in its presidential election.
Following the attack, Washington stated that it had no reason to doubt the claim made by IS.
This wouldn’t be the first instance of IS and its affiliates launching attacks on Russia or its interests abroad.
The group claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Russian plane over Egypt in 2015, resulting in the deaths of 224 people, the majority of whom were Russian citizens. Additionally, IS claimed responsibility for a 2017 bombing attack on the St Petersburg metro, which claimed the lives of 15 people.
Security analysts note that the group views Russia as a primary target for various reasons, including Russia’s involvement in weakening IS’s stronghold in Syria while supporting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as well as Russia’s two military campaigns in Muslim-majority Chechnya from 1994 to 2009 and its Soviet-era intervention in Afghanistan.
IS-K primarily operates in Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, and its name is derived from an old term for the region.
It is considered one of the most capable and active offshoots of IS and was responsible for deadly suicide attacks at Kabul airport during the tumultuous American withdrawal in August and September 2021.
The offshoot frequently denounces President Vladimir Putin in its propaganda materials.