A court of Moscow arrested four men who were accused of committing the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall.
The defendants in the criminal case were brought to court late in the evening. They were charged with committing a terrorist attack (Part 3 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The defendants face up to life imprisonment.
The court meeting was held behind closed doors.
The first defendant, a native and citizen of Tajikistan Dalerjon Mirzoev, pleaded guilty at court.
The second defendant, Rachabalizod Saidakrami Murodali, when asked about his registration in Russia, replied that he was registered, but did not remember where exactly. He also admitted guilt for the attack.
The third defendant, Tajikistan citizen Shamsidin Fariduni, was officially employed as a factory worker. He was registered in Krasnogorsk — the Moscow suburban town, where Crocus City Hall is located.
The last of the accused, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, was taken to court on a gurney while wearing a medical gown. Previously, he worked as a barber in the city Ivanovo, where he was registered.
According to an informed source of the Izvestia newspaper, the perpetrators were supposed to receive 500,000 rubles (about $5,400) for all of the group, not for each of them individually. Half of the amount — 250,000 rubles — was transferred to their bank account.
In addition, two defendants received instructions for the attack while in Turkey, the other two were brought in already on the Russian territory.
According to the latest data from the Moscow Region Ministry of Health, 182 people were hurt as a result of the attack on Crocus City Hall. As many as 101 remain in hospitals.
After the terrorist attack, rescuers from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations dismantled more than 400 cubic meters of collapsed structures of the Crocus City Hall building. To clear the rubble, specialised robotic equipment and canine groups were used.
The attack occurred on the evening of Friday, March 22, before the concert of Picnic rock band. The armed attackers entered the building of the Crocus City Hall and opened indiscriminate fire on security guards and visitors. They continued shooting people in the concert hall and then set the auditorium on fire. After the fire started, the terrorists returned to the car they arrived in and left the city. They were later detained in the Bryansk region. Sunday, March 24, was declared a day of mourning across Russia.
The number of those who were killed in the Crocus terrorist attack increased to 144 people.
Those accused of committing the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall will most likely be kept at Lefortovo pre-trial detention center, human rights activist and member of the Human Rights Council (HRC) Eva Merkacheva said.
"I think they will be in Lefortovo, there are no other options. They keep worst terrorists there. All those who took part in recent high-profile terrorist attacks were kept there,” Merkacheva said, lenta.ru publication said.
Lefortovo is the strictest isolation facility. Inmates have no right to use mobile phones nor can they communicate with each other. Prisoners are kept there in complete isolation.