The trial opens in Moscow on Monday (August 3) of 19 people accused of involvement in an attack on a Moscow concert hall last year that killed 149 people.

Moscow

Russian authorities have begun the trial of 19 individuals accused of involvement in the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow, where nearly 150 people were killed and more than 600 wounded. The attack, carried out by four gunmen from Tajikistan and claimed by the Islamic State group, is considered one of the worst terrorist incidents in Russia's history.

The incident has drawn criticism over the response of Russian security forces, with police taking over an hour to arrive at the scene. Western intelligence agencies had reportedly warned both citizens and the Russian government of a possible attack, but these warnings were dismissed by Russian officials. Moscow has also suggested, without evidence, that Ukraine was involved, a claim rejected by Ukrainian authorities.

Russia to start trial of suspects in Moscow concert hall attack

March 22, 2024. Flames engulfed the Kroka City Hall concert venue outside Moscow. Inside, nearly 150 people had lost their lives, with more than 600 wounded, as four men with Kalashnikovs stormed a rock concert and opened fire, President Vladimir Putin expressing his outrage. Terrorists, murderers, subhumans without nationality. Their unenviable fate will be retribution and oblivion. They have no future. By the next day, the suspected gunmen were in custody, hauled before a Moscow court with their faces bloodied and bruised. All four were from Tajikistan, the Central Asian-majority Muslim country that was once a Soviet republic. Responsibility for the attack quickly claimed by the Islamic State group. More than a year later, 19 people are now on trial for involvement in what was one of Russia's worst-ever incidents of terrorism. The attack, widely considered to be a major intelligence and security failure by the country's authorities. Not only did police take more than an hour to arrive on the scene. Earlier in March, Western intelligence agencies had issued public warnings to their citizens and private warnings to the Russian government of an impending attack on a large Moscow gathering by Islamist terrorists. Those warnings were dismissed by Putin, who called them an attempt to scare and intimidate Russian society. Russian intelligence agencies had instead concentrated their resources on the invasion of Ukraine, sending thousands of officers to manage captured territory there while suppressing dissent and opposition to the war at home. Moscow has insisted, without evidence, that Ukraine was somehow involved in the attack, accusations that Ukraine has dismissed as doubtful and primitive disinformation.

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Sana'a

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Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

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Washington

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Santa Barbara

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Kamchatka Peninsula

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As Suwayda

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Brussels

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Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

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Rome

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Los Angeles

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Sderot

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Bryan

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Ljubljana

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New York

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Breakdown