A ninth suspect in the deadly Moscow region concert hall attack has been placed in pre-trial detention on terrorism charges. Lutfulloi Nazrimad, a native of Tajikistan, pleaded guilty to some of the charges and has been remanded into custody until May 22. He was arrested shortly after the concert hall massacre and is one of eleven people, including four gunmen, arrested on terrorism charges in connection with the attack. A ninth suspect described as a “financier” was also arrested, although it is unclear if this individual is the same as Lutfulloi.
The Islamic State affiliate ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the Crocus City Hall massacre, which resulted in at least 144 deaths and 382 injuries. Moscow has attributed the attack to radical Islamists, Ukraine, and its Western allies, making it the deadliest attack in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege. The Russian Investigative Committee claims to have evidence that Ukrainian nationalists funded the gunmen through cryptocurrency payments. The attackers allegedly received orders from an unidentified coordinator via the Telegram messaging app, and planned to flee to Ukraine to collect a reward following the attack.
Lutfulloi, described as unemployed with a degree in higher education and registered in Tajikistan, was temporarily living at a hostel in Moscow. He was placed under arrest for 15 days on petty hooliganism charges before being remanded into custody on terrorism charges. Videos released by the court showed Lutfulloi behind a defendant’s glass cage, with his face obscured from view. The ongoing terrorism probe into the concert hall attack has seen eight of the suspects remanded into custody.
The details of the allegations linking Ukrainian nationalists to the attack have not been provided by the Russian Investigative Committee. The committee claims that cryptocurrency payments from Ukraine were used to fund the gunmen, although specifics have not been disclosed. The attackers allegedly planned to flee to Ukraine for a reward after carrying out the massacre. The coordination of the attack was reportedly done through the Telegram messaging app, with orders coming from an unidentified individual.
The Moscow region concert hall attack has resulted in a significant number of arrests on terrorism charges, with a total of eleven suspects apprehended in connection to the deadly incident. Lutfulloi Nazrimad, a Tajikistan native, is among those arrested and remanded into custody. The investigation into the attack has implicated Ukrainian nationalists as being behind the funding and coordination of the gunmen responsible for the massacre. While ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the attack, Russian authorities have pointed fingers at radical Islamists, Ukraine, and Western allies as being involved in the incident.
