Three of the four alleged attackers confessed to the crime
The alleged attackers, accused of killing at least 137 people in a concert hall in Russia this Friday, March 22, were held in pre-trial detention this Sunday, March 24.
His identity was confirmed for the first time. Three of the four alleged attackers in the Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow pleaded guilty this Sunday, March 24, after being placed in pre-trial detention.
He was present in court in the Russian capital, state news agencies reported. According to footage taken at Moscow’s Basmani court, the suspects were brought one by one into the glass cages reserved for the accused.
Defendant in a wheelchair
Delardzon Mirzoyev, a 32-year-old father of four, originally from Tajikistan, “fully admitted his guilt”, the Tass agency reported. Not speaking Russian, he sought the help of an interpreter, the source explains.
30-year-old Saidakrami Murodali Rachablizoda also confessed to the crime. He was found in his glass cage with his ears bandaged. The third to plead guilty, 25-year-old Shamsidin Fariduni, is also from Tajikistan, Russian news agencies reported.
The fourth accused came in a wheelchair, his eyes were closed and he was accompanied by doctors. He is Muhammedsobir Faizov, a 19-year-old man who worked in the town of Ivanovo, 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow. During the day, he was beaten up and suffered a serious eye injury in pictures that went viral on social networks.
Authorities previously said the suspects were “foreign nationals” without specifying their nationalities. Tajikistan is a former Soviet republic in Central Asia with a Muslim majority, recalls AFP.
The Investigative Committee, a powerful investigative body, did not mention the claim made by the Islamic State jihadist group on Friday. He also did not say anything about Ukraine on Sunday, although Vladimir Putin and his special services (FSB) mentioned this possibility, because, according to them, the alleged killers were trying to reach Ukrainian territory.
The pre-trial detention of the four men, who face life imprisonment, could continue until at least May 22. The trial, whose date has not yet been set, will not be made public, according to the Tass agency quoted by our colleagues at the Financial Times.
The attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow is the deadliest in Russia in twenty years, and the bloodiest claimed by Daesh in Europe. According to a report updated on Sunday, March 24, at least 137 people were killed and 182 injured in the attack.