Updated 19.40 | Published 19.29
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The four men accused of the terrorist attack in Moscow appeared in court with injuries.
But if they were subjected to torture, the Kremlin does not comment.
– I leave that question unanswered, says spokesperson Dmitry Peskov CNN.
Russia is now investigating Friday’s terrorist act against a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow where over 130 people died and 180 were injured.
IS has previously claimed responsibility for the attack and eleven people have been singled out as suspects by Russian authorities. Four are the main suspects for having carried out the massacre, they are now charged with acts of terrorism.
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full screen The four male suspects had obvious facial injuries when they appeared in court. Photo: AP
Exposed to violence
When the four suspects appeared in court on Monday, it was clear that they had been subjected to violence, reports Politico. The men had bruises, swollen faces and bandages. One of them, barely conscious, was brought in in a wheelchair.
During Saturday, videos from the arrest of one of the suspected terrorists were spread. In one of the videos, the police cut off the ear of the arrested man and force him to eat it. On Monday, that man appeared in court with a bandaged ear.
But the Kremlin leaves no comment on the information that the suspects were subjected to torture.
– I leave that question unanswered, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov CNN.
The men had bruises, swollen faces and bandages. One of them was brought in in a wheelchair.
1 / 4Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
“The investigation is ongoing”
According to US intelligence, IS Khorasan, an Afghan and Pakistani branch of IS, carried out the deed. But Dmitrij Peskov did not want to comment on IS being behind the attack. The Kremlin has instead accused Ukraine of being behind the attack and said the suspected terrorists were about to flee across the border into Ukraine.
– How can you explain that IS was not mentioned in the authorities’ version of the attack? Dmitry Peskov told CNN.
But on Monday evening, the Kremlin turned. In a televised speech, Vladimir Putin says that the terrorist act was carried out by “radical Islamists”.
– We know who committed the crime and now we want to know who ordered it, says the president.
At the same time, he says that the act was “part of the Kyiv regime’s attacks on Russia”, reports Reuters.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has promised that “the perpetrators will be punished” and that “they will not be shown any mercy”.
The four men charged are citizens of Tajikistan. They face life imprisonment.