Terrorism charge filed vs 4 suspects as Moscow attack toll rises to 137

In Russia, a man 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, is escorted by Russian law enforcement officers prior to his pre-trial detention hearing at the Basmanny District Court in Moscow on March 24, 2024. At least 137 people, including three children, were killed when camouflaged gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk, and then set fire to the building on March 22 evening. (Photo by TATYANA MAKEYEVA / AFP)

MOSCOW, Russia — Four men accused of involvement in the Moscow concert hall attack were charged with terrorism on Sunday, March 24, and ordered to be detained pending trial, as the death toll increases to 137 people.

Russia observed a national day of mourning Sunday after a massacre in a Moscow concert for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility, and as the first suspects appeared in court.

All four risk a life sentence in prison, a statement from Moscow’s Basmanny district court said.

The men were ordered to be held until May 22, but that could be extended depending on when the date for their trial is fixed.

The court said two of the defendants had pleaded guilty, one of them, Dalerdjon Barotovich Mirzoyev, a citizen of Tajikistan, who “entirely acknowledged his guilt,” said the statement.

Officials have already said the gunmen were all foreign nationals.

Russian officials said they have arrested 11 people in connection with Friday night’s attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk, including four of those who carried out the killings.

The court released footage showing three suspects being brought to a courtroom handcuffed and bent double by police officers. They were seated in a glass-fronted cell reserved for defendants.

A fourth man arrived in a wheelchair, his eyes closed.

One of the defendants had one of his ears bandaged, as in earlier videos of their arrest on Saturday, when three of them had bloodied faces.

Although the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to suggest Kyiv’s involvement when he said Saturday that they had been arrested while trying to flee to Ukraine.

Putin has made no public reference to the Islamic State group’s claims of responsibility but vowed to punish those behind the “barbaric terrorist attack.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the United States have dismissed any suggestion Kyiv was involved.

The attack was the deadliest carried out in Russia since the beginning of the 2000s. On Friday night, gunmen stormed the concert hall then set fire to the building.

Officials have said the gunmen were all foreign nationals.

‘Machine guns, knives, firebombs’

The Islamic State group posted Saturday on Telegram that the attack was “carried out by four IS fighters armed with machine guns, a pistol, knives and firebombs” as part of “the raging war” with “countries fighting Islam”.

A video lasting about a minute and half, apparently filmed by the gunmen, has been posted on social media accounts typically used by IS, according to the SITE intelligence group.

The video – which appears to have been filmed from the lobby of the concert venue – shows several individuals with blurred faces and garbled voices, firing assault rifles with inert bodies strewn on the floor and a fire starting in the background.

Russian investigators said that after walking through the theater shooting spectators, the gunmen set fire to the building, trapping many inside.

Health officials said the number of casualties had risen to 182, with 101 people still in hospital, of whom 40 were in “critical” or “extremely critical” condition.

The attack was the deadliest in Russia since the Beslan school siege in 2004.

The emergency situations ministry has so far named 29 of the victims, but the blaze has complicated the process of identification.

The ministry on Sunday posted a video of heavy equipment arriving at the venue to dismantle damaged structures and clear debris.

‘Morally crushed’

On the streets of the capital on Sunday, there was shock and grief.

“It is a tragedy. I was morally crushed,” Ruslana Baranovskaya, 35, told AFP.

“People don’t smile… everybody feels the loss,” said 73-year-old Valentina Karenina, a pensioner standing on a street off Red Square.

Museums, theaters and cinemas around the country closed and billboards were replaced with memorial posters.

Mourners continued to stream to the concert hall in northwest Moscow to lay flowers at a tribute to the victims.

More than 5,000 people donated blood following the attack, officials said, with many standing in long queues outside clinics.

Abroad, sympathizers left floral tributes outside Russian embassies.

Putin on Saturday vowed “retribution and oblivion” to the “terrorists, murderers and non-humans” who carried out the “barbaric terrorist attack.”

Several of his allies have called for the country to lift a moratorium on the death penalty, sparking concern among Kremlin critics.

Putin points to Ukraine

Putin’s statement Saturday suggested a Ukraine connection.

“They tried to escape and were traveling towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border,” Putin said of the attackers in his televised address.

Ukrainian President Zelensky, in his own evening address Saturday, rejected any suggestion that Kyiv had been involved.

In Moscow, some also doubted Putin’s claims.

“I’m not inclined to believe the version about Ukraine’s involvement… this is more like those committed by Islamist extremists,” said Vomik Aliyev, a 22-year-old who often went to the concert hall and who said his parents were Muslim.

Washington also dismissed any suggestion that Kyiv had been involved.

“ISIS (Islamic State group) bears sole responsibility for this attack,” said White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.

Late on Sunday, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the country was returning to its top security alert status in the wake of the attack and given “the threats weighing on our country.”

He attributed the attack to the Islamic State group.