what we know about the four suspects arrested by the Russian authorities

Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Rachabalizodu, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Fayzov appeared in court in the Russian capital. Their swollen faces bear witness to the treatment they underwent.

“All the perpetrators who ordered this crime will inevitably be punished”, warned Vladimir Putin after the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall, a concert hall located in Krasnogorsk, a near suburb of Moscow. Sunday March 24, the four suspects in the massacre which caused the death of at least 137 people were arrested and brought to justice. Their swollen faces bear witness to the treatment they underwent. Accused of “terrorism”, they face life imprisonment.

They were remanded in custody after appearing before the Basmanny court in the Russian capital. Their detention, scheduled until May 22, may be extended pending their trial, but no date has yet been set. In total, Russian authorities announced the arrest of eleven people in connection with this attack. Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about the main suspects.

They would be of Tajik nationality

In a statement cited by AFP, the Russian Interior Ministry said the four suspects were “all foreign nationals”, without however mentioning their nationality. According to Russian media, the men are of Tajik nationality. Bordering Afghanistan, Tajikistan is a country in Central Asia, a former republic of the USSR, where the Islamic State is active via its branch Islamic State of Khorasan.

According to Russia’s official Tass news agency, the suspects’ names are Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Rachabalizodu, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Fayzov. According to the Russian investigative media Mediazona, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev is of Tajik nationality. He responded to the audience in Moscow in Tajik. He is married and father of 4 children. It was recorded in the city of Novosibirsk in Western Siberia. He has no previous convictions. According to the same source, Saidakrami Rachabalizodu was presented by Russian justice as speaking Tajik, but understanding Russian. He is married and has one child. He has no previous convictions.

Shamsidin Fariduni, 25 years old, is a worker with no previous convictions. He is married and has an 8 month old child. He responded in Russian during the hearing. Videos of his interrogation were released, showing him kneeling, stating that a “preacher’s assistant” offered him $5,500 to kill people at a concert. The final suspect, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, is 19 years old. He is single, without children and without previous convictions. He previously worked in a hairdressing salon in Ivanovo, a town northeast of Moscow.

The Tajik Foreign Ministry denied the involvement of its citizens in the attack, the BBC reports. The Tajik government released information exonerating three other Tajik citizens presented by Russia as being involved in the attack.

They were arrested near Bryansk

According to the official Russian news agency Tass, the four suspects were arrested while trying to reach Ukraine, where “on the other side of the border, a ‘window’ had been prepared for them to cross”, said Vladimir Putin. The Russian president thus accuses Ukraine of being behind the Crocus City Hall attack, but kyiv denies any involvement.

On Telegram, Russian MP Alexander Khinshtein said Tajik passports were found in the car where the alleged attackers fled. He explains that the suspects fled in a Renault vehicle and were spotted by police in the Bryansk region, about 340 km southwest of Moscow. According to the parliamentarian, a pistol and an assault rifle magazine were also found in the car.

They were obviously beaten

Moscow’s Basmanny Court released footage of the suspects’ appearance. Three of them arrived at the hearing, handcuffed and bent in half by police officers. They were obviously beaten. Their faces are swollen, showing traces of a blow and blood. Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev presumably wears remnants of a plastic bag around his neck, while Saidakrami Rachabalizodu wears a bandage on his ear. According to Mediazona, his ear was cut off by Russian authorities and an investigator tried to make him eat it.

Mediazone described one of the accused as being unable to stand up straight without leaning on him. Muhammadsobir Fayzov arrived very weak in a wheelchair, in a half-open white outfit, with his eyes closed. His face also bears marks of beatings. Videos of the suspects being tortured and beaten during interrogation by law enforcement also circulated on Russian social media.

According to the court, two of the accused pleaded guilty. One of them has “fully admitted his guilt”.