Russian investigators have concluded that the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall last year was planned and organized by special services of an “unfriendly state” with the aim of destabilizing the situation in Russia, according to Swetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for the Russian investigation committee. She stated that members of an international terrorist organization were involved in the attack and the direct organization of the terrorist attack was carried out by six Central Asian nationals, some of whom use pseudonyms. They are currently at large and have been charged in absentia and put on the wanted list.
According to the investigation, these men recruited the suspected attackers, Dalerdschon Mirsojew, Saidakrami Ratschabalisoda, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muchammadsobir Faisow and organized their training abroad. The four directly involved in the attack were arrested and are in custody.
Others who are currently in detention are those accused of being accomplices in the terrorist attack, including those who provided accommodation, transportation and weapons, or financed terrorist activities. Petrenko added that the investigation against 19 accused, who are charged with terrorist crimes, has been completed and they are in pre-trial detention, familiarizing themselves with the case files. A number of other accused have been put on the wanted list.
The terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall occurred on March 22 last year. Armed men stormed the building during a concert by the rock band Piknik, set it on fire, opened fire and fled. A total of 145 people were killed and over 500 others were injured, with the concert hall being completely destroyed. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack.
In early March this year, the US Justice Department reported the arrest of IS member Mochammad Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, who had led the Crocus attackers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated a day after the tragedy that the attackers were heading towards Ukraine, intending to flee, “where, according to preliminary information from the Ukrainian side, a window was prepared for them to cross the border.” He said the attack was “in the hands of Islamists” but the Russian side was interested in the mastermind behind the attack. The president acknowledged that the attack could be “just one link in a whole series of attempts by those who have been at war with Russia since 2014.