A Moscow court has convicted 19 individuals in connection with the deadly 2024 concert hall attack that claimed 149 lives and injured over 600.
The March 22 rampage at Crocus City Hall, one of the capital’s most devastating attacks in years, saw four gunmen open fire on concert-goers before setting the venue ablaze. A faction of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the atrocity.
All 19 defendants received substantial prison terms following the verdict. Fifteen were sentenced to life imprisonment, one was given 22 and a half years, and three others were handed 19 years and 11 months each.
The trial began in August 2025 in a military court, as is customary for terrorism charges, and took place behind closed doors, with the authorities citing security concerns.
President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have claimed, without presenting evidence, that Ukraine had a role in the attack. Kyiv has strongly denied any involvement.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigation agency, has said that the attack had been “planned and carried out in the interests of the current leadership of Ukraine in order to destabilize political situation in our country.” It also noted the four suspected gunmen tried to flee to Ukraine afterward.
The four, all identified as citizens of Tajikistan, were arrested hours after the attack and later appeared in a Moscow court with signs of being severely beaten.
Those tried alongside them included three men who sold the suspected gunmen a car, a man they rented an apartment from, and 10 others accused of terrorist ties, according to independent Russian news site Mediazona.