A young man in a wheelchair is wheeled into the court in Basmanny in Moscow on Sunday.
According to the Russian news agency Tass, he is said to have had major problems talking, and on his lap is something that looks like a catheter bag.
The man has been identified as 19-year-old Mukhammadsobir Faizov, and is one of four men whom Russian security authorities have targeted for the mass shooting in a concert hall outside Moscow on Friday evening.
According to the state news agency Ria, Faizov has been unemployed recently, but previously worked as a hairdresser.
Mukhammadsobir Faizov in the court box in Moscow on Sunday.
Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
The other three men have been identified as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev (32), Shamsidin Fariduni (25) and Saidakrami Rachabalizoda (30). The four were sentenced to two months in custody, pending trial.
According to the Russian state news agency Tass, the four men are from Tajikistan.
Videos show brutal treatment
Videos and pictures leaked by Russian Telegram accounts show brutal treatment of the suspects.
In one picture, Fariduni is lying on a floor with his trousers pulled down, with an electrical device connected to his abdomen.
Another video shows the arrest of what is supposed to be Rachabalizoda, who has his ear removed and put into his own mouth. He appeared in court yesterday with a bandaged ear.
The independent Russian news agency Meduza geolocated the video of Rachabalizoda’s arrest to the Byransk region in Russia, 140 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev appeared in the court box on Sunday with a black eye and cuts on his face.
Photo: Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters
IS takes the blame
At least 137 people were killed when armed men opened fire on the audience with automatic rifles, before setting fire to the concert hall.
11 people who Russia claims have links to the attack have been arrested, including the four accused.
Russian authorities are said to have tried to link the whole thing to Ukraine, something President Volodymyr Zelenskyi calls “absurd”.
In a televised speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the four accused fled towards Ukraine, and has not mentioned the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) once, despite the fact that they have taken responsibility for the attack.
It is the Islamist group’s Afghan wing, ISKP, which has claimed responsibility.
Listen to Utanriksredaktionen’s podcast about the attack:
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Published
25.03.2024, at 09.15
Updated
25.03.2024, at 09.32
