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The four men suspected of carrying out the deadly terrorist attack in Moscow have appeared in court bearing the marks of torture.
The suspects, identified by Russian authorities as being from Tajikistan, a Central Asian nation bordering Afghanistan, were allegedly picked up in the Bryansk region about 210 miles southwest of Moscow hours after the attack. Without providing any evidence, Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed they were heading for Ukraine.
Both Ukraine and its western allies, including the US, have denied any involvement in the attack.
A man identified as Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, a suspect in the Crocus City Hall shooting on Friday, sits in a glass cage in the Basmanny District Court in Moscow
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A man identified as Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, a suspect in the Crocus City Hall shooting on Friday, sits in a glass cage in the Basmanny District Court in Moscow
(AP)
Russia’s security service (FSB) said the four men who appeared in court on Sunday evening killed more than 130 people in the Crocus City Hall last Friday, but they added that they have also detained an additional seven people allegedly involved in the attack.
The oldest of the four suspects, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, is 32 years old while the youngest, Mukhammadsobir Faizov, is 19, according to Russian authorities. The other two suspects have been identified as 30-year-old Saidakrami Rachabalizoda and 25-year-old Shamsidin Fariduni.
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Their identities have not been confirmed and multiple Russian analysts have warned against taking the word of the Kremlin authorities as fact.
But footage posted of the attack appears to match with subsequent footage of those detained, suggesting at least some of those arrested were directly involved. Two of the four have pleaded guilty.
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
(AFP via Getty Images)
The Tajik government, a close ally of Moscow, insists it has not received any “official information” from Russian authorities about Tajiks allegedly involved in the attack.
But counterintelligence analysts have said that Isis-K, an offshoot of the terrorist group Isis, has a strong presence in Tajikistan. It is believed the four carried out the attack on behalf of Isis-K.
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.
Teenage Mukhammadsobir Faizov, sitting in hospital robes, was shown sitting in a wheelchair, half conscious, during his court appearance.
Russian media reported that he is from the Tajik capital of Dushanbe. Two accounts on Russian social media platform VKontake that are believed to be linked to Faizov suggest that he worked at a barber shop in the Russian city of Ivanovo, a five-hour drive northeast of Moscow, until November.
The two other suspects, Shamsiddin Fariduni and Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, were shown with bruised faces when they appeared in court.
The names of several other alleged Tajik nationals and their photos appeared on Russian websites as suspects in the attack.
However, Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry quickly rejected reports about three of the alleged suspects. They said that two of the men were at home in Tajikistan at the time of the attack and a third was at work in the Russian city of Samara, more than 600 miles from Moscow.
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1/ 3Moscow attack: Everything we know so far about the terror suspects
Moscow attack: Everything we know so far about the terror suspects
A man identified as Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, a suspect in the Crocus City Hall shooting on Friday, sits in a glass cage in the Basmanny District Court in Moscow
AP
Moscow attack: Everything we know so far about the terror suspects
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
AFP via Getty Images
Moscow attack: Everything we know so far about the terror suspects
A man identified as Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, a suspect in the Crocus City Hall shooting on Friday, sits in a glass cage in the Basmanny District Court in Moscow
EPA
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