His identity was confirmed for the first time. Three of the four alleged attackers of the attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow pleaded guilty after being remanded in custody this Sunday, March 24.
They were appearing in court in the Russian capital, state news agencies reported. According to images taken at Moscow’s Basmanny court, the suspects were taken one after another to the glass cage reserved for the accused.
A defendant in a wheelchair
Originally from Tajikistan, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32 years old and father of four, “fully admitted his guilt,” the Tass agency reported. Since he did not speak Russian, he asked for the help of an interpreter, this source states.
Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, 30, also pleaded guilty. In his glass cage, he was seen with a bandage on his ear. The third to plead guilty, Shamsidin Fariduni, 25, is also from Tajikistan, Russian news agencies reported.
The fourth defendant arrived in a wheelchair, with his eyes closed and accompanied by doctors. This is Muhammadsobir Fayzov, a 19-year-old young man who worked in the town of Ivanovo, 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow. During the day, images that went viral on social networks showed him being beaten and seriously injured in the eye.
Authorities had previously said the suspects were “foreign nationals,” without mentioning their nationality. Tajikistan is a former Soviet republic in Central Asia with a Muslim majority, recalls AFP.
The Investigative Committee, a powerful investigative body, did not mention the claim made Friday by the Islamic State jihadist group. He also did not say anything on Sunday about Ukraine, although Vladimir Putin and his special services (FSB) had mentioned this possibility because, according to them, the alleged assassins were trying to reach Ukrainian territory.
The preventive detention of these four men, who risk being sentenced to life imprisonment, can continue at least until May 22. The trial, whose date has not yet been set, will not be public, according to the Tass agency cited by our colleagues at the Financial Times.
The attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow is the deadliest in Russia in twenty years and the bloodiest claimed by Daesh in Europe. According to a report updated on Sunday, March 24, this attack left at least 137 dead and 182 injured according to the latest report.
Source: BFM TV
