MOSCOW: Basmanny district court in Moscow – the capital of Russia – issued a ruling, granting the investigators’ request for detention for all four defendants implicated in the Crocus City Hall attack case.
According to Moscow City Court’s announcement, all four individuals have been remanded into pre-trial detention until May 22.
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The defendants face charges of committing a terrorist act, as stipulated by the courts of general jurisdiction in Moscow, punishable under the Russian Criminal Code with up to life imprisonment.
Each of the four defendants was individually brought to court, where three of them pleaded guilty to all charges, as reported by Russian state media news agency TASS.
Identified as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni, and Mukhammadsobir Faizov, the names of the accused were announced by Moscow City Courts.
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Hailing from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic, all four individuals have been in Russia on either temporary or expired visas.
The court conducted closed hearings for each defendant, with no members of the public allowed, as reported by TASS, citing the court’s press service.
Each of the four defendants accused of perpetrating a terrorist act at the Crocus City concert hall was individually brought before the court in Moscow.
They stand charged under Part 3, Provision “b” of Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code, which stipulates punishment of up to life imprisonment for terrorist acts.
According to state media news agency TASS, three of the defendants pleaded guilty to all charges.
Here’s what is known about each of the accused:
Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev: The 32-year-old, hailing from Tajikistan, was the first defendant to appear in court.
Mirzoyev possessed temporary registration for three months in the southern Russian city of Novosibirsk in Siberia, which subsequently expired, as reported by RIA Novosti.
Saidakrami Rachabalizoda: Appearing as the second defendant, Rachabalizoda informed the court that he possessed Russian registration documents but could not recall their whereabouts.
He communicated through an interpreter, according to state media RIA Novosti.
Rachabalizoda is reported to have been born in 1994.
Shamsidin Fariduni: Born in 1998 in Tajikistan, Fariduni holds citizenship in the Central Asian nation.
Officially employed at a factory in the Russian city of Podolsk, he is registered in the city of Krasnogorsk, according to state media RIA Novosti.
Muhammadsober Faizov: The fourth defendant appeared unresponsive and was brought to court in a wheelchair, accompanied by a doctor, as observed in a video shared on Moscow City Court’s Telegram channel.
Faizov, reportedly born in 2004, was temporarily unemployed, having previously worked in a barber shop in Ivanovo, a city northeast of Moscow.
He is registered in Ivanovo, according to state media RIA Novosti.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack at Crocus City Hall on March 22 and shared video evidence of the incident.
Russian officials reported that 137 individuals lost their lives, with over 100 others sustaining injuries.
Earlier this month, the United States cautioned Moscow about a potential assault targeting large gatherings in Russia before issuing a public advisory to its citizens in the country.
The Kremlin promptly dismissed the alert, labeling it as propaganda and an effort to interfere in its presidential election.