Tajik Foreign Minister Speaks Out About Treatment Of Crocus City Hall Suspects
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) shakes hands with Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin as they meet on the sidelines of a CIS conference in Minsk on April 12.
Tajikistan's foreign minister on April 12 condemned the treatment of the mostly Tajik suspects in last month’s terrorist attack on a Moscow-area concert hall that killed more than 140 people.
Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, speaking in Minsk at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), also criticized what he said was a media campaign to slander Tajiks.
After the attack on Crocus City Hall on March 22, several Tajiks were arrested and showed signs of abuse when they appeared in Basmanny District Court in Moscow. The four accused gunmen had bruised and swollen faces and showed other signs of having been severely beaten. There were unconfirmed reports that one of them had his ear cut off during his arrest.
"The use of torture in the form of bodily mutilation is unacceptable," Muhriddin was quoted as saying on April 12. "The price of confessions extracted in this way is well known to everyone."
Before-And-After Images Suggest Severe Abuse Of Moscow Terror Suspects
1/8Dalerjon Mirzoev is seen immediately after his capture in the Bryansk region on March 23. He was captured on suspicion of being one of four Tajik nationals involved in the terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow on March 22 that left at least 137 dead and more than 180 injured.
Images taken as four Tajik men suspected of committing the Crocus City Hall shooting near Moscow were apprehended in western Russia on March 23 are starkly different from how the men appeared -- battered and bruised -- in court the following day.
2/8Here is Mirzoev pictured in court in Moscow on March 24 wearing the same long-sleeved T-shirt but sporting signs of being beaten.
Images taken as four Tajik men suspected of committing the Crocus City Hall shooting near Moscow were apprehended in western Russia on March 23 are starkly different from how the men appeared -- battered and bruised -- in court the following day.
3/8Faridun Shamsiddin is shown apparently unscathed immediately after his capture in the Bryansk region on March 23.
Images taken as four Tajik men suspected of committing the Crocus City Hall shooting near Moscow were apprehended in western Russia on March 23 are starkly different from how the men appeared -- battered and bruised -- in court the following day.
4/8Shamsiddin is seen here pictured in court in Moscow on March 24 with a swollen and bruised face. Earlier, the Tajik man was filmed as he was apparently being tortured by security forces with an electrical cable attached to his genitals.
Aiden Aslin, a British national who was captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine during the battle of Mariupol, told RFE/RL that he believes the publication of apparent torture of the terror suspects is intended to "set an example."
The former Ukrainian marine says such abuse of suspects yet to be found guilty of any crime is at "the same level" as the extrajudicial violence he says he witnessed while in Russian captivity.
Images taken as four Tajik men suspected of committing the Crocus City Hall shooting near Moscow were apprehended in western Russia on March 23 are starkly different from how the men appeared -- battered and bruised -- in court the following day.
5/8Saidakram Rajabalizoda is seen as he is led away after reportedly having his ear sliced off by uniformed men who caught him in a forest in Russia's Bryansk region on March 23.
The Russian Grey Zone Telegram channel, which is connected to the Wagner group, published a video purportedly showing Rajabalizoda’s ear being cut off and security agents trying to force him to eat it. A man in the video yells at the suspect: “Chew, bastard! I will cut you open and shove it into your mouth.”
Images taken as four Tajik men suspected of committing the Crocus City Hall shooting near Moscow were apprehended in western Russia on March 23 are starkly different from how the men appeared -- battered and bruised -- in court the following day.
6/8Rajabalizoda is seen at his March 24 court appearance with his right ear bandaged and showing evidence of being beaten while in detention.
Images taken as four Tajik men suspected of committing the Crocus City Hall shooting near Moscow were apprehended in western Russia on March 23 are starkly different from how the men appeared -- battered and bruised -- in court the following day.
7/8Muhammadsobir Faizov is pictured after being apprehended on March 23 with an apparently severe eye injury that has been blurred out by Russian media outlets.
Images taken as four Tajik men suspected of committing the Crocus City Hall shooting near Moscow were apprehended in western Russia on March 23 are starkly different from how the men appeared -- battered and bruised -- in court the following day.
8/8Faizov is seen here at a March 24 court hearing. The terror suspect was wheeled into the courtroom and appeared barely responsive during the appearance.
Images taken as four Tajik men suspected of committing the Crocus City Hall shooting near Moscow were apprehended in western Russia on March 23 are starkly different from how the men appeared -- battered and bruised -- in court the following day.
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Muhriddin said that Russian security authorities should respect the rights of the Tajik suspects and adhere to the principles and norms of international law in their investigations into the massacre, especially regarding the presumption of innocence, the prohibition of torture, and ill-treatment of detainees.
In addition, Muhriddin condemned the surge of xenophobia in Russia after the attack, saying that as a result of an “ill-conceived information campaign” a “negative perception is being formed toward citizens of Tajikistan and Tajiks.”
Of the 11 men in custody, 10 are Tajik; one is reported to be a Kyrgyz-born Uzbek man who has Russian citizenship.
Some experts and Tajiks living in Russia had previously criticized Tajik authorities for not speaking out about the rights of Tajik citizens and choosing to remain silent in the face of torture of suspects and mistreatment of Tajiks.
The attack was Russia’s worst terrorist attack in two decades. Responsibility was claimed by an offshoot of the Islamic State extremist group.
RFE/RL’s Tajik Service is a trusted source of local news, attracting audiences with compelling reporting on issues not otherwise covered by Tajikistan’s state-run media.
