Terror suspects appear in court in Russia showing signs of torture and abuse

A series of videos shows Russian security agents torturing suspects, including forcing one to chew a piece of his severed ear, while another was stripped half-naked and given electric shocks with wires connected to his genitals . .

The videos appeared on pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, and Russian media used geolocation to determine the time and location of the arrests in the western Bryansk region.

Russian authorities identified the four suspects as migrant workers from Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan, where the Islamic State offshoot ISIS-K, which claimed responsibility for the Saffron City concert hall attack, is said to be active.

President Vladimir Putin held talks over the weekend with the leaders of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Syria, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, an apparent endorsement of Islamic State’s claims of responsibility despite Putin and the Kremlin’s control of The media pointed the finger at Ukraine.

Putin said on Saturday that the suspect was captured while trying to flee to Ukraine, and Russian state media suggested that the West was creating a narrative of Islamic State guilt to protect Kiev. Russian authorities have provided no evidence linking Ukraine to the attack, and President Zelensky has denied any role in it and accused Putin of trying to “pass the buck” for his own security failures.

Film and photographic evidence of torture is only part of the apparent thirst for revenge. In the days after the attack, several senior Russian officials called for the reinstatement of the death penalty, fueling fears among opposition figures that the Kremlin and security services would use the attack to further intensify repression.

“They were caught. All those who helped catch them did a good job. Should they be killed?” asked former President Medvedev, current Vice Chairman of the Russian Security Council. “They should and will be,” Medvedev wrote on his Telegram blog on Monday.

“But more importantly kill everyone involved. Everybody,” Medvedev added. “Whoever pays them, whoever sympathizes with them, whoever helps them. Kill them all.”

The death penalty has been banned since Russia signed a number of human rights treaties and adopted a new constitution in 1996, and since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine there have been repeated calls for its reinstatement as those supporting the invasion have become more radical and aggressive. But there is no sign of any legislative action.

Things have changed now. Vladimir Vasilyev, leader of the ruling United Russia party in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, said he would consider reinstating the death penalty.

“There are many questions about the death penalty. This topic will definitely be studied in depth, professionally and meaningfully,” Vasilyev said in a televised speech. “We will make decisions that are consistent with the mood and expectations of our community.”

Some Kremlin propagandists say the death penalty is not enough.

“I look at these faces and think once again that the death penalty is too easy,” wrote Margarita Simonyan, head of the advocacy RT network. She suggested “a lifetime of hard labor somewhere underground, with no chance of seeing the light, only bread and water, no conversation allowed, and not very humane guards.”

Typically, Russian security services deny reports of torture, and leaks of photographic or film evidence, which rarely happens, lead to public scandals and internal investigations. But on Sunday night, four of the gunmen accused of the Crocus City Hall attack were filmed in court being severely beaten.

One of them, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, had a large bandage wrapped around his ear. Another man, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, was wheeled into the courtroom on a stretcher, nearly unconscious.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the photos at a news conference on Monday. In a separate speech, he said the Kremlin was “currently not involved” in discussions about the death penalty.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon called Putin on Sunday and distanced himself from the suspect.

According to a statement issued by Rahmon’s office, “terrorists have no nationality, no homeland and no religion.”

The Kremlin said in its own statement: “Vladimir Putin and Emomali Rahmon noted during their talks that the secret services and related services of Russia and Tajikistan are closely cooperating in the field of counter-terrorism and this work will be strengthened.”

On Monday, Rahmon called the attack “a shameful and horrific incident that serves as a warning to each of us, especially parents, to pay more serious attention to the issues of raising children.”

“We must protect our youth from such destructive and terrorist groups and movements and not allow our children to tarnish the reputation of the Tajik nation, the sovereign Tajik state and their parents,” Rahmon said in a released statement. on his official website.

During Russia’s military intervention in Syria from 2015 to 2017, Putin frequently portrayed ISIS as one of Russia’s main enemies and declared victory over the group during a 2017 visit to the Middle East.

Earlier this month, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it foiled an ISIS-K-orchestrated attack on a Moscow synagogue and “eliminated” the militants in a raid in the Kaluga district southwest of the capital. Kazakhstan later confirmed that two of its citizens were killed in the attack.

A year ago, in February 2023, the FSB said it foiled a planned attack by ISIS on a chemical plant in Kaluga.

However, despite the longstanding animosity between Putin and the Islamic State and the group’s claim of responsibility, Putin and others have said Ukraine played a role in Friday’s attack.

Putin said on Saturday that the suspects were captured while trying to flee to Ukraine and that “Ukraine has prepared a window for them to cross the country’s borders.”

Prominent St. Petersburg opposition lawmaker Boris Vishnevsky said Russia cannot reinstate the death penalty without amending the constitution.

“If we live in a country governed by the rule of law, there is no point in taking these proposals seriously, because from a constitutional point of view it is impossible to restore the death penalty without adopting a new constitution,” Vishnevsky said. An interview. “But because our country is not governed by laws, they first create the political will and then adjust the laws to reflect that, so I can’t rule it out. If the president decides to do this, I think they will find the law for it. Basis, just like what happened before.”

Central Asian migrant workers in Russia are already a marginalized group, and some officials have expressed concern they could face persecution and harassment from citizens and Russian law enforcement following Friday’s attacks, with Kyrgyzstan’s foreign ministry warning citizens to stay away unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise do not travel to Russia.

They specifically warned those with administrative offenses in Russia not to travel there as they could be detained at the border.

“Citizens residing on the territory of the Russian Federation should avoid traveling to crowded places and should always carry identification documents proving their identity and legality of their stay in Russia,” the ministry said.

The Tajik Embassy in Moscow had previously called on its citizens not to participate in mass events. Baza, a Telegram channel with links to Russian law enforcement, reported that leaders of Russia’s Tajik community have issued guidelines warning compatriots not to leave their homes at night.

St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said migrant workers’ dormitories would be subject to “special controls” as part of a “new model of combating the threat of terrorism.”

Natalia Abbakumova and Robyn Dixon contributed to this report.