Moscow Concert Hall Terror
Photos and videos of suspects’ torture released
Putin alleges Ukraine is behind it
It causes shock that the photos and videos have been released that show the brutal torture of suspects in the concert hall terror attack that occurred in Moscow, Russia.
According to the Daily Mail on the 24th local time, videos showing Russian soldiers beating and torturing four male suspects arrested the previous day with electric shocks were posted on Russia’s pro-government Telegram and social media.
In the released video, one can see the suspect, Shamsidin Fariduni, lying on the ground with his pants pulled down and connected an electric shock device to his genitalia, foaming at the mouth. Another video shows suspect Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda being tortured by having his ear cut off. They were also seen being beaten with hammers and bleeding from their faces.
The suspects, appearing in Russian court, seemed to be full of bruises and wounds, which appeared to be signs of torture.
Rachabalizoda, whose ear was cut off in a previously released video, appeared with a large bandage where his ear once was, and fellow suspects Muhammadsobir Fayzov and Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev also showed signs of being beaten on their faces.
Fayzov, the youngest at nineteen, appeared in court in a wheelchair and kept his eyes closed throughout the questioning.
There are growing suspicions that the Russian authorities deliberately released scenes of the terrorists being tortured, as the torture photos and videos were released through social media channels closely linked to the Russian military. Human rights organizations have criticized this as unnecessary cruelty.
This has led to suspicions that President Vladimir Putin, who has been unilaterally claiming that Ukraine is behind the terror attack, may have tortured these people to obtain false testimonies to support his claim.
The Russian human rights organization Gulagu.net asserted that this torture was directed by Putin, whom they have continuously criticized for the use of torture. “If there is ample evidence that they are the criminals, why would the authorities need to torture them? This is to obtain a version of the testimony favorable to Putin and Russia,” they said.
In an interview with the British Daily Mail, Dmitry Kolezev, a well-known opposition journalist in exile from Russia, also pointed out that “The Russian authorities are proudly leaking the fact that they are torturing. There is no doubt that false confessions will come from these suspects after such torture, confessing that they killed people under the instruction of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine.”
The suspects who appeared in court that day were all charged with group terrorism, and if found guilty, they could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The Russian court has issued a two-month detention order for all of them. The nationality of all four suspects has been confirmed as Tajikistan.
Three out of the four confessed to the crime, and one of them admitted that he planned and committed the crime for money.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities have announced that the number of victims killed in the terror attack has increased to 137.
According to local media, the investigative committee announced that as of the afternoon of the 24th, the number of deaths from the indiscriminate terror attack by gunmen at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Krasnogorsk, northwest of Moscow, has been counted as 137.
So far, the total number of victims of the terror attack has exceeded 200, and additional casualties are expected to be revealed.
A large number of weapons and ammunition were found at the concert hall, including two AK assault rifles, four sets of ammo, and more than 500 containers filled with ammunition, causing shock.
Putin, while chairing a meeting on the terror attack on the 25th local time, insisted that the attack was part of an attack on Russia by Ukraine.
“We already know who committed the crime. But the interest lies in who ordered it,” he said, suggesting that he will continue to claim that if one asks who ordered the terrorists, who are radical Islamists, to commit the terror, the answer would be Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine are in a dispute over who is behind the incident.
Zelenskyy said, “Putin and the scumbags are trying to shift the blame. Their way is always the same,” strongly criticizing Russia. The United States also reportedly warned Russia of the possibility of a terror attack in advance.
However, it is speculated that Putin considered the U.S. warning as a threat to destabilize Russia, leading to the Moscow terror attack.
The Russian government has declared the 24th, the day of the terror attack, as a national day of mourning, and citizens are reportedly holding memorial ceremonies to honor the victims in various places.
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