A Russian military court has sentenced four men, all Tajik nationals, and their 11 alleged accomplices to life imprisonment for carrying out the terror attack on the Crocus City Hall entertainment center near Moscow in March 2024, which killed 149 people.
In total, prosecutors charged 19 people in connection with the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades.
The four other defendants were reportedly given sentences ranging from 19 to 22 years in prison.
Islamic State Claim
The Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K), a regional affiliate of the global terror group known to recruit mainly among Central Asians, claimed responsibility for the attack.
"[Shamsidin] Fariduni, [Dalerdzhon] Mirzoyev, [Muhammadsobir ] Faizov, and [Saidakram] Rachabalizoda have been found guilty and are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment," the judge at the Second Western District Military Court in Moscow said on March 12, identifying them as the direct perpetrators of the attack.
The 19 defendants were variously found guilty of committing terrorist attacks, assisting terrorist activities, undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities, and other crimes.
'It Is All Lies'
Gulrakat Mirzoyeva, the mother of Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, told RFE/RL's Tajik Service that the verdict was unfair and she did not agree with the court's decision.
"It is slander, it is all lies. They never invited us, they did not speak to us. It is slander against my son. He did not do these things," Mirzoyeva said. "They got confessions by torture and beatings. Oh, God, where can I turn now, who will protect us?"
The convicted men will serve their life sentences in "special regime" prisons in Russia, which are known for their harsh conditions.
The trial was held behind closed doors and it was not immediately clear whether the defendants would appeal. International rights organizations have criticized the trial and the legal process, including allegations of torture and intimidation of defense lawyers.
Russia’s Investigative Committee stated early in its probe that evidence linked the four gunmen to Ukraine -- a claim rejected by both Kyiv and Washington.
The Crocus City Hall attack was the worst terrorist incident in Russian since the 2004 Beslan school siege in which 333 people, many of them children, were killed.
With reporting from RFE/RL's Tajik Service and Reuters
