Moscow Concert Hall Attack: Three of the four attackers charged with carrying out the deadly shooting at a concert hall in Moscow that left more than 130 people dead, admitted to the terror crime during hearing in a Russian court Sunday. The four suspects, all Tajikistan citizens, were formally charged by the Basmanny District Court in Moscow.
The attackers, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32; Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30; Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19; and Shamsidin Fariduni, 25, were charged with committing a group terrorist attack resulting in the death of others.
The court ordered that the four men, all citizens of Tajikistan, be held in pre-trial custody until May 22.
The offense carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Three of the suspects– Mirzoyev, Rachabalizoda and Shamsidin Fariduni– admitted guilt after being charged, while the fourth, Faizov, was brought to court directly from a hospital in a wheelchair and sat with his eyes closed throughout the proceedings.
Faizov was attended by medics while in court, where he wore a hospital gown and trousers and was seen with multiple cuts.
The other three suspects appeared in court heavily bruised with swollen faces amid reports in Russian media that they were tortured during interrogation by the security services.
One suspect, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, had a heavily bandaged ear. Russian media reported Saturday that one of the suspects had his ear cut off during interrogation. However these reports could not be verified.
Russia observes national day of mourning
The hearing came as Russia observed a national day of mourning, following the attack Friday on the suburban Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed at least 137 people..
Russian President Vladimir Putin had declared March 24 a day of ‘national mourning’ as he vowed to punish the terrorists behind the attack, TASS reported.
“I declare March 24 a day of national mourning,” Putin said in televised address to the nation.
“Our people, our children, just like the Nazis that once killed our people during the war. They do the same. All the orchestrators, all those who are responsible for this crime will inevitably be found responsible, they will pay. We will identify everyone who stands behind these terrorists and they will pay. This is a strike against Russia,” the Russian President said.
The attack, which has been claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, is the deadliest on Russian soil in years.
Attackers caught while fleeing to Ukraine, Putin claims
Russian authorities arrested the four suspected attackers Saturday, with seven more people detained on suspicion of involvement in the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address to the nation Saturday night.
Putin claimed they were captured while fleeing to Ukraine, but those claims were firmly denied by Kyiv.
Putin has called the attack “a bloody, barbaric terrorist act” and said Russian authorities captured the four suspects as they were trying to escape to Ukraine through a “window” prepared for them on the Ukrainian side of the border.
Russian media broadcast videos that apparently showed the detention and interrogation of the suspects, including one who told the cameras he was approached by an unidentified assistant to an Islamic preacher via a messaging app and paid to take part in the raid.
Putin didn’t mention IS in his speech to the nation, and Kyiv accused him and other Russian politicians of falsely linking Ukraine to the assault to stoke fervor for Russia’s fight in Ukraine, which recently entered its third year.
US says shared intel about imminent ISIS attack
U.S. intelligence officials said they had confirmed the IS affiliate’s claim.
“ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
Watson claimed the U.S. shared information with Russia in early March about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow, and issued a public warning to Americans in Russia.
(With inputs from the Associated Press)
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