MOSCOW (AP) — A year after the Moscow concert hall attack killed 145 people, Russian officials on Saturday claimed it was planned and organized by “special services of unfriendly states.”
According to a statement from Svetlana Petrenko, president of the Russian Committee on Inquiry, the purpose was to “destabilize the situation in Russia.”
She did not identify a “unfriendly nation,” but said that “six Central Asians” outside of Russia are currently being charged in the absence of the country, and was on the Russian wanted list, which allegedly adopted and organized training for four suspicious perpetrators.
Four men identified in the media as Tajikistani citizens appeared in Moscow's courts on terrorist accusations at the end of March last year, showing signs of serious assault. It seemed almost unconscious during the hearing.
According to Petrenko, 19 people are currently in detention in Russia in connection with the attack on Moscow's Crocus Town Hall.
Factions of the Islamic State Group claimed responsibility for the massacre that shot people waiting for a popular rock band show, then burned the building. However, Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have long been arguing that Ukraine is playing a role in the attack, without providing evidence. Kiev has vehemently denied involvement.
