A Moscow court ruled Thursday to extend the pre-trial detention of eight men accused of organizing and carrying out the deadly Crocus City Hall concert attack in March.
Law enforcement agents arrested four gunmen the day after the March 22 attack, which left 145 people dead and hundreds more wounded. A total of 11 people were eventually arrested in connection with the deadly shooting, which was claimed by Islamic State affiliate ISIS-K.
Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled in separate decisions on Thursday to extend the detention of Muhammadsobir Faizov, Dalerjon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni, Yakubjoni Yusufzoda, Dzhumokhon Kurbonov, Muhammad Zoir Sharipzoda, and Nazrimada Lutfulloi until Aug. 22.
In a video shared by the Moscow court system, one of the suspected gunmen, Rachabalizoda, could be seen sitting inside a defendant’s box with part of his right ear cut off, seeming to corroborate previous claims that he was tortured by Russian law enforcement agents.
Another suspected gunman, Faizov, was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair and did not appear fully — if at all — conscious.
The four suspected gunmen, who are all Tajik nationals, previously showed signs of having been tortured, sparking protests from Tajikistan, a Moscow ally in Central Asia that is a source of many of Russia’s migrant workers.
At Thursday’s hearings, journalists were asked to leave the courtroom, according to the independent news website Mediazona.
Moscow has blamed radical Islamists, Ukraine, and the West for the Crocus City Hall attack, the deadliest in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, which resulted in the killing of more than 300 people.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has claimed it has evidence that “Ukrainian nationalists” were ultimately behind the attack and financed the gunmen with cryptocurrency payments. However, it has yet to bring forward evidence to back the allegations.
… we have a small favor to ask. As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.
Remind me later.
