Three suspects linked to the attack in the suburbs of Moscow which left at least 137 dead were placed in pre-trial detention on Monday by a court in the capital, Russian agencies reported, the alleged attackers having already been arrested. These three men are accused of “terrorism” and face life imprisonment, according to the state agency Ria Novosti. Their pre-trial detention, set until May 22, may be extended pending their trial, the date of which has not yet been set.
It could be a father and two of his sons
According to the Ria Novosti news agency, it concerns a father and two of his sons, one of whom, born in Tajikistan, has Russian nationality. Russian authorities announced on Saturday that they had arrested a total of 11 people and did not immediately confirm that these three suspects were among them.
The confirmed Tajik nationality of at least one of the attackers prompted Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon on Monday to call on “parents to once again pay even greater attention to the education of children”, according to Russian news agencies .
“Investigation in progress”
Asked by the press about the investigation, Dmitri Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, did not provide further details. “The investigation is ongoing and the presidential administration would be wrong to comment on the progress of the investigation,” he simply told the press. The Islamic State group, which Russia is fighting in Syria and which is active in the Russian Caucasus, claimed responsibility for the attack but Russian authorities said the suspected killers were trying to reach Ukrainian territory after the attack.
kyiv, which has been facing an assault by Russian troops since February 2022, has denied any “link with the incident”. The United States also rejected the Russian president’s version.