'Tortured' and bruised Moscow concert hall massacre suspects appear in court
Four men accused of carrying out the Russia concert hall attack that killed more than 130 people have appeared at a Moscow court, with one seeming to be barely conscious during the hearing.
Three of the suspects were marched bent double while a fourth was brought to court from hospital in a wheelchair to face terrorism charges.
Russian media has reported the men were tortured during interrogation by the security services, and they appeared apparently beaten in court with heavy bruises, including swollen faces.
There have also been reports that one of the suspects had his ear cut off during interrogation, although this has not been verified, while some outlets have reported that a suspect was given electric shocks to his genitals.
A court statement said two of the suspects accepted their guilt in the assault after being charged in the preliminary hearing, though the men's condition raised questions about whether they were speaking freely.
There had been earlier conflicting reports in Russian media outlets that said three or all four men admitted culpability.
Moscow's Basmanny District Court formally charged Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32; Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30; Shamsidin Fariduni, 25; and Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19, with committing a group terrorist attack resulting in the death of others.
Faizov, who appeared in a wheelchair, sat with his eyes closed throughout the proceedings.
He was attended by medics while in court, where he wore a hospital gown and trousers and was seen with multiple cuts.
The court ordered that the men, all of whom are citizens of Tajikistan, be held in pre-trial custody until May 22.
Court officials said Mirzoyev and Rachabalizoda admitted guilt for the attack after being charged.
The hearing came as Russia observed a national day of mourning for Friday’s attack on the suburban Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed at least 137 people.
The attack, which has been claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, is the deadliest on Russian soil in years.
Russian authorities arrested the four suspected attackers on Saturday, with seven more people detained on suspicion of involvement in the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address to the nation.
Events at cultural institutions were cancelled on Sunday, flags were lowered to half staff and television entertainment and advertising were suspended, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
A steady stream of people added to a makeshift memorial near the burned-out concert hall, creating a huge mound of flowers.
Moscow's Department of Health said on Sunday it had begun identifying the bodies of those killed via DNA testing, saying the process would take at least two weeks.
Putin has called the attack "a bloody, barbaric terrorist act" and said Russian authorities captured the four suspects as they were trying to escape to Ukraine through a "window" prepared for them on the Ukrainian side of the border, something that Kyiv firmly denied.
Russian media broadcast videos that apparently showed the detention and interrogation of the suspects, including one who told the cameras he was approached by an unidentified assistant to an Islamic preacher via a messaging app and paid to take part in the raid.
Putin didn't mention IS in his speech to the nation, and Kyiv accused him and other Russian politicians of falsely linking Ukraine to the assault to stoke fervor for Russia's fight in Ukraine, which recently entered its third year.
US intelligence officials said they had confirmed the IS affiliate's claim.
The US shared information with Russia in early March about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow, and issued a public warning to Americans in Russia.
The raid was a major embarrassment for Putin and happened just days after he cemented his grip on the country for another six years in a vote that followed the harshest crackdown on dissent since the Soviet times.
Some commentators on Russian social media questioned how authorities, who have relentlessly suppressed any opposition activities and muzzled independent media, failed to prevent the attack despite the US warnings.
IS, which fought against Russia during its intervention in the Syrian civil war, has long targeted Russia. In a statement posted by the group's Aamaq news agency, the IS Afghanistan affiliate said that it had attacked a large gathering of "Christians" in Krasnogorsk.
The group issued a new statement on Saturday on Aamaq, saying the attack was carried out by four men who used automatic rifles, a pistol, knives and firebombs.
It said the assailants fired at the crowd and used knives to kill some concertgoers, casting the raid as part of the Islamic State group's ongoing war with countries that it says are fighting against Islam.