Nine detained in Tajikistan in relation to Moscow concert hall attack

According to reports in Russian state media, Tajikistan’s state security forces arrested nine people on suspicion of having links to the perpetrators of a shooting attack that killed 144 people at a Moscow courthouse last week.

“Nine residents of the Vahdat district were arrested for meeting with terrorists at the Krokus City Hall on March 22,” RIA Novosti reported on Friday. Russian security forces are still interested in capturing the suspects, the person said.

Wahdat is located east of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. The prisoners are also suspected of having links to the Islamic State (ISIS), according to RIA Novosti. A Moscow court indicted Lutfulloi Nazrimad, another suspect who was executed by court-martial, and ordered his detention until May 22, pending investigation and trial.

Independent Russian media site Mediazona reported that Nazrimad told the court that he was born in Tajikistan. Nazrimad is the ninth suspect to appear in court. Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari reports from Moscow that 24-year-old Nazrimad has been charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism and has pleaded guilty to some of the charges, according to his lawyer.

Russian authorities had previously announced that 11 people were arrested in the country, four of whom were suspected of being rebels. Four men, identified as citizens of Tajikistan, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One of them appeared nearly unconscious during the hearing.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Thursday it had also arrested another suspect in connection with the attack on the Crokos City Hall, on suspicion of financing the attack. He did not provide further details about the identity of the suspect or suspect. An Islamic sect claimed responsibility for the massacre. However, Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, say Ukraine and the West played a role in the attack.

The convictions come after the Russian Investigative Committee announced it had found evidence “of a connection between cash received by Ukrainian individuals or citizens, cryptocurrency and criminals,” Al Jazeera’s Jabari reported (This evidence has not yet been made public) This is the stop.

” Ukraine denies involvement and its leaders say Moscow is using the accusation to escalate the conflict in Ukraine. Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said at the court session that the death toll increased to 144 on Friday, after the seriously ill person died in the hospital.