Moscow Concert suspects pleaded guilty
At a court appearance on Sunday, three of the four suspects accused of carrying out the attack on March 23 at the Moscow shopping center and concert venue Crocus City Hall, which resulted in the deaths of 133 people, entered guilty pleas to their roles in the massive killing. The four males, who are natives of Tajikistan, have also been ordered by the court to remain in pretrial custody until May 22.
Seven other individuals were also detained on Saturday due to their suspected involvement in the attack, which was claimed by the terrorist organization’s regional branch in South and Central Asia, namely Afghanistan: the Islamic State-Khorasan.
As per the Associated Press news agency, the suspects, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev (32), Saidakrami Rachabalizoda (30), Mukhammadsobir Faizov (19), and Shamsidin Fariduni (25), were formally charged by the Basmanny District Court in Moscow “with committing a group terrorist attack resulting in the death of others”. The maximum sentence for this offense is life imprisonment.
Three suspects—Mirzoyev, Rachabalizoda, and Fariduni—have entered guilty pleas. Wheelchaired into the courthouse, Faizov was dressed in a medical gown slashed many times. During the hearing, medical personnel attended to him.
Along with obvious bruises and significantly swollen faces, the other three also had reports in the Russian media that they had been subjected to torture while being questioned. These reports haven’t been confirmed, though.
Russian state-run news channel Channel One broadcast footage of the four suspects being taken into custody and questioned by police over the weekend.
According to the AFP news agency, Channel One stated that the suspects were held in Khatsun hamlet, which is on the border between Russia and Belarus in the Bryansk region.
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