Moscow, Mar 12 (EFE).- A Russian military court on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment the four perpetrators of the March 2024 attack that left 150 people dead at the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow.
The Second Western District Military Court handed down the sentence against four Tajik citizens, including the alleged main organizer of the attack, Shamsidin Fariduni, who investigators say was linked to the militant group Islamic State.
The other three convicted attackers, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Murodali Rachabalizoda, and Mujammadsobir Faizov, also received life sentences, the harshest penalty possible in Russia, where a moratorium on the death penalty has been in place for three decades.
Of the 15 additional defendants, accused by prosecutors of acting as accomplices, 11 were also sentenced to life imprisonment, while the remaining four received prison terms ranging from 19 years and 11 months to 22 years and six months.
According to prosecutors, the first group provided the attackers with weapons, ammunition and financial support, while the other four rented them an apartment and sold them the car used to travel to the scene and later attempt to flee.
The court also ordered the 19 convicted to pay 200 million rubles (about $2.5 million) in compensation for material and moral damages to the victims.
Planning and execution of the attack
Investigators say Fariduni, who had previously served a prison sentence in Tajikistan for harassment, received training in Turkey, and played a central role in preparing the attack, including scouting the concert venue and purchasing one of the vehicles used.
During the trial, which began in August 2025, the defendants admitted their guilt either fully or partially.
Prosecutors said the attackers used three Kalashnikov assault rifles, a Makarov pistol, and more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition to open fire on attendees at a concert by the Russian rock band Picnic, which had drawn several thousand spectators.
Additional victims died in a fire triggered by explosions during the assault.
Worst attack in Russia since 2004
Russian investigators concluded that the group belonged to Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), whose operations extend across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, and India.
The four attackers, Tajik nationals aged between 19 and 32, attempted to flee by car toward Ukraine, but were detained in Russia’s Bryansk border region.
The attack sparked criticism from opposition figures, human rights groups, and independent media, who accused authorities of focusing on silencing critics of the war in Ukraine rather than adequately protecting public safety.
President Vladimir Putin initially blamed Ukraine for the attack, an allegation for which Russian authorities have not presented evidence, arguing that Islamist militants would not have targeted Russia independently.
It later emerged that US intelligence had warned Moscow about the possibility of an attack being prepared by ISIS-K, which subsequently claimed responsibility.
The Crocus City Hall massacre is considered the deadliest attack in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, when militants took hundreds of hostages and 334 people were killed, more than half of them children. EFE
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