Despite several confessions by the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) about the attack on a concert hall near Moscow a week ago, Russian authorities continue to insist on alleged Ukrainian involvement. The suspects said they received instructions from an unknown person via voice messages on Telegram, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Friday.
After the attack, this “coordinator” directed the terrorists towards the Ukrainian border and promised them a reward that they would receive in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, it said.
Terrorists may have been tortured
Independent Russian media pointed out that the arrested men showed up in the courtroom a few days ago, some seriously injured, and had most likely been tortured by Russian security forces. Russian human rights activists have also expressed their horror and pointed out that confessions obtained under torture have little value.
On March 22nd, Russia was shaken by the worst terrorist attack in many years. As a result of the attack on the Crocus City Hall venue, at least 144 people were killed and 382 others were injured in the city of Krasnogorsk, northwest of Moscow. IS has already claimed responsibility for the crime several times. Western security authorities and experts believe this is credible and suspect the IS offshoot Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK) was behind the attack. Nevertheless, shortly after the attack, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials claimed, without providing any evidence, that Ukraine was allegedly involved in the crime. Ukraine, which has been defending itself against a brutal Russian war of aggression for more than two years, has strictly assigned this.