By Filipp Lebedev
(Reuters) – Russia’s Investigative Committee says it has evidence that the Tajik gunmen accused of killing at least 143 people at a concert hall near Moscow last week were linked to Ukrainian nationalists. Ukraine denies involvement, and the U.S. says Islamic State – which claimed the attack – bears sole responsibility.
Here is what we know about the suspects held by Russia and what has happened to them since they were detained.
SAIDAKRAMI RACHABALIZODA – suspected gunman
Rachabalizoda, 30, is a national of Tajikistan, like the other three suspected gunmen. He appears to have lived in Russia for years – in 2018 he was fined 2,500 roubles ($27) for a violation of immigration rules, according to a court database.
After his arrest, he was shown being abused in a series of videos published by Grey Zone, a Telegram channel close to the Wagner mercenary group. In one video, he was kicked and beaten with rifle butts. In another, a man in camouflage uniform cut off part of his right ear and stuffed it into the suspect’s mouth. On March 24 Rachabalizoda appeared in court with a bandage around his right ear and with bruises and caked blood on his face. Asked about video and photo evidence that he and the other suspects were tortured, the Kremlin declined to comment.
MUHAMMADSOBIR FAYZOV – suspected gunman
Fayzov, 19, is the youngest of the detainees. Prior to the attack, he had worked as a barber in a town northeast of Moscow.
After his arrest, several Telegram channels published a video showing him being questioned while lying on a hospital bed. In photographs circulating online, he appeared to have one eye missing. He was taken to court on March 24 in a wheelchair, sitting with his head slumped backwards and his eyes closed, apparently oblivious to what was going on around him.
DALERDZHON MIRZOYEV – suspected gunman
Mirzoyev is 32 and has four children. He was prosecuted as long ago as 2011 for violating Russian immigration rules, according to court records. Leaked air travel data show he occasionally flew from Moscow to Tajikistan and back.
A video published on social media showed Mirzoyev answering questions through an interpreter. He said he lived in a hostel with another man, with another man, Mukhamad, and that 10-12 days earlier they had bought a car “for work” from someone called Abdullo. Photographs from the courtroom showed him with cuts and heavy bruising to his face.
SHAMSIDIN FARIDUNI – suspected gunman
Fariduni, 25, said in a leaked interrogation video that he had arrived from Turkey on March 4. His social media accounts, which he ran under the pseudonym “Abdulloh,” show that he was posting photos from Istanbul in late February.
In the video taken following his arrest, he was shown trembling while being questioned by the side of a road with his hands tied behind his back. He said that he had “shot people” in Crocus City Hall “for money”, having been offered 500,000 roubles ($5,400) by a person he did not identify.
The Grey Zone Telegram channel later published a photograph purporting to show Fariduni being tortured with electric shocks to his genitals while lying on the floor with his trousers rolled down to his knees and someone standing on his legs. When he appeared in court on March 24, he had heavy swelling to the left side of his face.
SUSPECTED ACCOMPLICES
– Brothers Aminchon and Dilovar Islomov and their father Isroil were remanded in custody by a Moscow court on March 25. The state Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, said the brothers had been recruited by Fariduni with the aim of committing a terrorist act. Russian media reported that Dilovar had owned a car used by the attackers. On March 28, Russian news agencies reported that Aminchon and Isroil Islomov had appealed against their pre-trial detention.
– Alisher Kasimov, born in Kyrgyzstan, was placed under formal arrest by the same court on March 26. He is accused of providing accommodation to the four suspected Tajik gunmen.
(Additional reporting and writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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