Nearly 140 people were killed when four gunmen attacked a concert hall in Krasnogorsk, northwest of Moscow. The attack was a bad humiliation for Putin.
Based on the news photos, it seems that the men accused of the terrorist attack in Russia have been beaten, possibly severely. According to the Russian news site Meduza, the accused have also been tortured.
In a video circulating on social media, a piece is allegedly cut off from one of the suspect’s ears and stuffed into his mouth. The authenticity of the video has not been confirmed.
One of the prisoners, Saidakrami Murodali Ratšabalizodu, had a paper jam in his right ear in the cage of the Basmann regional court. Based on the pictures, his right eye is black.
Dalerdzon Mirzoyev both eye circles were black in the courtroom. There appeared to be a torn plastic bag around his neck.
Shamsid Faridun the face looks swollen in the pictures.
Also brought to the cage in a wheelchair by Muhammadsobir Faizov there were injuries on the face. He sat motionless in a cage in a white hospital gown. Based on an unconfirmed photo that has spread on social media, the man’s other eye is possibly damaged.
The three other men were wearing Adidas brand tracksuits after the attack. In the video taken at the time of the attack, the attackers are wearing different colored jackets.
According to unconfirmed information, one of the men was given electric shocks during the interrogations.
137 people were killed and 180 wounded when four gunmen attacked a concert hall in Krasnogorsk, northwest of Moscow.
According to the Russian media, all those accused of the terrorist attack are citizens of Tajikistan who lived in Russia. According to the Russian court, two of them, Mirzoyev and Ratšabalizodu, would have admitted their guilt.
Tajikistan, located in Central Asia, has denied that the perpetrators are citizens of the country.
“The suspects were caught amazingly quickly”
A leading expert on terrorism Olli Ruohomäki The foreign policy institute says that it is impossible to know whether the men brought to court were the real perpetrators of the attack.
– It is possible to speculate whether these four men are the perpetrators of the attack or whether a few guys have been caught by chance on the street and have been dragged into the cauldron quite properly. Outsiders cannot know what the truth is.
Ruohomäki wonders how quickly the suspects were caught. The perpetrators had managed to operate near Moscow without being caught before the attack.
– The control of the safety machinery is really tough. It raises questions about how they managed to carry out a terrorist attack.
The abuse of the accused does not surprise the investigator.
– It’s a blow For Putin humiliating. That’s how you got to visit the country that Putin claims to build a safer one. I’m not at all surprised that these guys, whoever they are, have been dragged into the cauldron and the rage has been unleashed.
In addition to the four suspected shooters brought to justice, seven others have been arrested. Isis-K, the Afghan branch of the terrorist organization Isis, says it is behind the attack. Ruohomäki considers it very possible, because Russia is one of Isis-K’s enemies.
There has been a terrorist movement in Tajikistan, and it would be appropriate for the perpetrators of the Russian attack to be citizens of the country.
– Russia is a key target in ISIS-K’s propaganda.
Isis-K’s grudge against Russia is related to the Soviet army’s actions in the war in Afghanistan and Russia’s alliance with Syria and Iran, Ruohomäki lists. Isis-K has also fought against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, among others.
– Isis-K could be described as a dog that is afraid of water and attacks everyone.
Ruohomäki considers Putin’s accusations against Ukraine about the attack to be hopeless. He reminds that the war of aggression started by Russia in Ukraine has nothing to do with radical Islam.
– They are two completely different realities. It just illustrates that Putin and the Kremlin are desperately trying to find someone to blame but themselves.