The four men charged in connection with the March 22, 2024 terrorist attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall pleaded guilty during the opening session of their trial on Monday in a Moscow court.
The accused—Shamsidin Fariduni, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, and Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda—are all citizens of Tajikistan. According to Lyudmila Aivar, a lawyer representing 127 victims, the defendants admitted to their roles in the attack and expressed remorse to the victims and their families.
However, Rachabalizoda disputed the charges that he took part in the actual assault, claiming only to have been a member of a terrorist organization. All four men face potential life sentences under charges of committing a terrorist act that resulted in mass casualties.
The attack, one of the deadliest in Russia in recent years, claimed the lives of 149 people and injured more than 600. The perpetrators stormed the Crocus City Hall concert venue, opened fire on concertgoers, and then set the building ablaze before fleeing the scene.
The men were later apprehended near the village of Khatsun in Bryansk Oblast, approximately 65 miles (104 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border. Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have stated that the suspects were attempting to escape into Ukraine with the help of alleged contacts across the border.
Authorities claim one of the men confessed during interrogation that a middleman who recruited them for the operation had admitted the client behind the attack was Ukraine. While the Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate ISIS-K publicly claimed responsibility for the massacre, several inconsistencies have fueled speculation over a possible state-sponsored operation.
According to testimony, the attackers stated they were hired to carry out the assault in exchange for money—a tactic uncharacteristic of jihadist ideology. Their decision to flee instead of fighting to the death, as is common with ISIS-linked militants, further raised questions among investigators and analysts.
In the aftermath, authorities in both Russia and Tajikistan arrested additional suspects accused of financing, recruiting, and assisting the attackers in their attempted escape.