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Four individuals believed to be responsible for a fatal terrorist attack in Moscow have been brought before a court, displaying signs of physical abuse.
Russian officials have named the individuals from Tajikistan, a country located in Central Asia next to Afghanistan, as the suspects. They were reportedly apprehended in the Bryansk region, which is approximately 210 miles southwest of Moscow, shortly after the incident. President Vladimir Putin of Russia has accused them of planning to travel to Ukraine without presenting any proof.
Ukraine and its allies in the West, including the US, have refuted any connection to the attack.
The FSB, Russia’s security service, reported that four men were brought to court on Sunday night for their involvement in the killing of over 130 individuals at Crocus City Hall last Friday. The FSB also mentioned the arrest of seven more individuals believed to be linked to the attack.
According to Russian authorities, the four suspects are aged 32 (Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev), 30 (Saidakrami Rachabalizoda), 25 (Shamsidin Fariduni), and 19 (Mukhammadsobir Faizov), making Dalerdzhon the oldest and Mukhammadsobir the youngest.
The identities of the individuals have yet to be verified and numerous analysts from Russia have cautioned against believing the statements made by the Kremlin as true.
However, the video footage of the attack aligns with the later footage of the detained individuals, indicating that some of the arrests were of individuals who were directly involved in the incident. Out of the four arrested, two have admitted their guilt.
This combination of pictures created on March 24, 2024 shows (from L) Saidakrami Murodalii Rachabalizoda, Dalerdjon (alternatively spelled Dalerdzhon) Barotovich Mirzoyev, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Fayzov suspected of taking part in the attack of a concert hall that killed 137 people, the deadliest attack in Europe to have been claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group in decades
The Tajik government, a strong supporter of Moscow, claims that it has not been officially informed by Russian authorities regarding any Tajik citizens suspected of being involved in the attack.
According to counterintelligence experts, there is evidence that Isis-K, a splinter group of the terrorist organization Isis, has a significant presence in Tajikistan. It is suspected that the four individuals were acting under the direction of Isis-K during the attack.
Saidakrami Murodali was pictured in court on Sunday evening with his right ear covered in bandages. Over the weekend, footage circulated by Russian bloggers appeared to show security services cutting his ear off.
Mukhammadsobir Faizov, a teenager, was seen in a court hearing while sitting in a wheelchair and wearing hospital clothing. He appeared to be partially aware of his surroundings.
Russian news outlets stated that he hails from Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan. There are two profiles on the Russian social media site VKontakte that are suspected to belong to Faizov, indicating that he was employed at a barbershop in Ivanovo, a city in Russia approximately five hours away from Moscow, until November.
The court presented Shamsiddin Fariduni and Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, the two additional suspects, bearing visible facial injuries.
Various individuals who reportedly hold Tajik citizenship and their images were presented on Russian online platforms as potential perpetrators of the assault.
The Interior Ministry of Tajikistan swiftly dismissed claims regarding three potential suspects. They stated that two of the individuals were in Tajikistan during the attack, and the third was at their job in the Russian city of Samara, over 600 miles away from Moscow.
Source: independent.co.uk
