First two suspects in Moscow concert hall attack in court: media

A man suspected of taking part in the attack of a concert hall that killed 137 people, the deadliest attack in Europe to have been claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, is escorted by Russian law enforcement officers prior to his pre-trial detention hearing at the Basmanny District Court in Moscow on March 24, 2024. – At least 137 people, including three children, were killed when camouflaged gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk, and then set fire to the building on March 22 evening. (Photo by Olga MALTSEVA / AFP)

The first two suspects in the deadly Moscow concert hall attack appeared in a Russian court late Sunday to face terrorism charges, state news agencies reported.

The TASS news agency cited Moscow’s Basmanny District Court as saying that two of the suspects had been charged with participating in a terrorist attack.

The suspects, identified as Saidakrami Murodalii Rachabalizoda and Dalerdjon Barotovich Mirzoyev, face charges of a “terror attack committed by a group of individuals resulting in a person’s death”, according to TASS.

The court released a video showing police officers bringing one of the suspects into the courtroom in handcuffs, as well as photographs of the same man sitting in a glass cage for defendants.

Authorities said the suspects were foreign nationals.

According to Russian media and parliament member Alexander Khinstein, some of the suspects are from Tajikistan, a majority-Muslim former Soviet republic that borders Afghanistan.

Friday night’s attack on Crocus City Call outside Moscow that killed 137 people and wounded over 180 was claimed by the Islamic State (IS).

Russian officials have so far not commented on that claim, suggesting instead that the suspects had links to Ukraine.

Kyiv denies any involvement in this attack, the deadliest in Russia since the early 2000s.