Attackers who killed over a hundred people in Moscow concert hall face life imprisonment

(Patria) - Three of the four accused in the attack on the Moscow concert hall, in which over 130 people were killed, pleaded guilty in a Russian court on Sunday, AP reported.

The Basmanny District Court in Moscow charged Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev (32), Saidakramij
Rachabalizoda (30), Mukhammadsobir Faizov (19), and Shamsidin Fariduni (25) with committing a group terrorist act that resulted in death. The offense carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The court ordered that the attackers, who are citizens of Tajikistan, be held in pre-trial detention until May 22. Mirzoyev, Rachabalizoda, and Fariduni pleaded guilty after the indictment was read. The fourth, Faizov, was brought to court directly from the hospital in a wheelchair and sat with his eyes closed throughout the proceedings. Doctors were present while he was in court, and he wore a hospital gown and trousers and was seen with multiple cuts. The other three suspects appeared in court with bruises and swollen faces amid reports in the Russian media that they were tortured during interrogation by security services.

One suspect, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, had his ear bandaged. Russian media reported on Saturday that one of the suspects had his ear cut off during interrogation.

The hearing took place as Russia observed a national day of mourning, following Friday's attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the suburbs, which killed at least 137 people. The attack, for which a branch of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility, is the deadliest on Russian soil in recent years.

Russian authorities arrested four suspects on Saturday, and seven more people were detained on suspicion of involvement in the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an address to the nation on Saturday evening. He claimed they were captured while fleeing to Ukraine, which Kyiv denied.