MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. The Second Western District Military Court will hold closed-door preliminary hearings on a criminal case against 19 perpetrators and accomplices of the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in the Moscow Region, which killed 149 people, court spokeswoman Irina Zhirnova told TASS.
"Today, the court will hold a closed hearing in accordance with Article 234 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (a preliminary hearing is conducted by a judge alone in a closed court session with the participation of the parties) in the criminal case of the terrorist attack in Crocus against 19 defendants," she said.
According to her, the court will take unprecedented measures to ensure safety of the participants in the trial. "Security will be provided by law enforcement officers," she said.
The case will be heard by a panel of three judges. The case file consists of more than 470 volumes, including the material evidence base collected during preliminary investigation, as well as the results of more than 200 different types of examinations against the accused.
The court will have to determine the building, where the case will be considered, since the courtrooms in Gospitalny Pereulok will not be able to accommodate all participants in the process, while the buildings in the Moscow City Court, where the military court periodically holds meetings, are under repair, part of the appeals court office has moved to less spacious buildings.
The court also remains open to the question of holding hearings in an open or closed mode for the media and the public. The final decision will be made before the announcement of the indictment, that is, at the beginning of the trial. However, the court has the right to make the process closed even after the protocol shooting for journalists until the announcement of the operative part of the verdict.
Zhirnova said that the court may close sessions for the media and public at any time during the trial in accordance with current legislation. In particular, the rationale behind the closure may be to ensure safety of all participants of the process.
About the defendants
The defendants are 19 people, including both the direct perpetrators of the terrorist attack and their accomplices: Shamsidin Fariduni, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Mukhammadsobir Faizov, Saidakram Murodali Rachabilizoda, Umedzhon Soliyev, Mustakim Soliyev, Shakhromdzhon Gadoyev, Zubaidullo Ismoilov, Hussein Hamidov, Muhammad Zoir Sharipzoda, Yakubdzhoni Davlathon Yusufzoda, Nazrimad Lutfulloi, Dzhumakhon Kurbonov, Hussein Medov, Dzhabrail Aushev, Alisher Kasimov, as well as Isroil, Dilovar and Aminchon Islomov. All of them are included in the list of terrorists in Russia.
According to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, before the case was brought to court, according to investigators, two wanted Tajik citizens and unidentified persons, acting in the interests of the top political leadership of Ukraine, organized the activities of three cells of the Vilayat Khorasan group, which is part of the international terrorist organization Islamic State, on the territory of Russia (their activities are prohibited in Russia). They involved Tajik citizens Mirzoyev, Fariduni, Rachabilizoda, Faizov, Soliyev, Ismoilov, Gadoyev, Khamidov, Lutfulloi, Kurbonov, Yusufzoda, Sharipzoda in it, appealing to their religious feelings. They were instructed to commit a terrorist attack in Moscow, the Prosecutor General's Office noted.
The Islomovs and Kasimov, accomplices in the crime, transferred money to the terrorists, provided them with an apartment and a car. Medov, Aushev and others produced and handed over weapons and ammunition. The Soliyevs, Ismoilov, Gadoyev, and Khamidov transported weapons and ammunition to the direct perpetrators of the terrorist attack. Lutfulloi, Kurbonov, Yusufzoda and Sharipzoda provided the accomplices with funds.
On March 22, 2024, Rachabalizoda, Faizov, Mirzoyev and Fariduni committed a terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, shooting visitors with firearms and setting the hall on fire. As a result, 149 people died, one is considered missing. The damage caused amounted to about $77 million. After the terrorist attack, four perpetrators tried to escape to Ukraine, but were detained in the Bryansk Region and taken to Moscow.
The investigation into the two organizers and four participants of the terrorist organization continues.