Suspects on trial over Moscow venue attack
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility. The four suspected attackers, all from Tajikistan—an ex-Soviet republic in central Asia—and another 15 people accused of being accomplices have gone on trial.
An AFP reporter at the courtroom before saw some of the defendants in glass cages, their hands cuffed behind their backs. Around 30 survivors were also present. One of them, Tatiana Ruzanova, told AFP she came to the court to see the defendants. 'They all sit quietly with their heads slumped in cages... I didn't see if they felt guilty, they all had their heads down,' Ruzanova said.
On the night of the attack, she came to the concert of the Russian rock group Piknik with a friend but did not make it inside the hall. 'We saw everyone already in the foyer, maybe that saved us. We inhaled smoke. It was a miracle that we didn't make it,' Ruzanova said.
Subsequent hearings were to take place on Tuesday and Thursday, according to the court's website. The judge ordered the trial to proceed behind closed doors. The attack shocked Russia, which has been battling Ukraine in a military offensive since February 24, 2022.
Despite IS claiming responsibility, Russia implicated Ukraine in the attack, an allegation that Kyiv called baseless and absurd. The massacre ignited a debate about the reintroduction of the death penalty. Some hardline politicians publicly called for a moratorium, observed since 1996, to be lifted.
It also sparked a wave of xenophobia against central Asian migrants in Russia. Nearly half of the victims were killed by smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation from the fire that broke out, rather than from gunshot wounds, the state TASS news agency reported on Sunday, citing case materials. Ekaterina Klimenko, who survived the attack, told AFP she hoped for a 'fair decision' from the judges.
'I still go to concerts, but intuitively I look around with my eyes to see if there is any danger,' she said. – AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
8 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Philippine and Indian navies begin first joint South China Sea patrols
Marcos arrives in New Delhi on state visit MANILA: Indian navy warships have begun patrolling areas of the disputed South China Sea with their Philippine counterparts for the first time, Manila's military said Monday, as President Ferdinand Marcos departed for a state visit to New Delhi. The two-day sail includes three Indian vessels and started Sunday, a day before Marcos left on a trip that will include talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Philippines has heightened defense cooperation with a range of allies over the past year after a series of clashes in the South China Sea. Beijing claims nearly the entirety of the waterway despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. India's naval vessels, including the guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, arrived in Manila for a port visit late last week. The patrol 'started yesterday afternoon, then it's ongoing up to this moment... the activity at the moment is replenishment at sea,' Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Salgado told AFP. China in response accused Manila of 'drawing in external countries to stir up trouble' in the South China Sea. The joint patrol 'undermines regional peace and stability', said Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesperson of the Chinese military's Southern Theater Command. He said Beijing had conducted 'routine patrols' in the South China Sea on Sunday and Monday, and remained on 'high alert'. While in India, Marcos is expected to sign pacts in such fields as law, culture and technology, according to foreign affairs assistant secretary Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq, but all eyes will be on any potential defense agreements. Before departing Monday, Marcos praised the two countries' 'steadfastness in upholding international maritime law, including the UNCLOS', the UN treaty granting an exclusive economic zone within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) of a country's shores. The Philippines has previously purchased BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles from India, a weapon which has a top speed of 3,450 kilometers (2,140 miles) per hour. India, which has engaged in border clashes with China in the Himalayas, is a member of the so-called Quad, a group that includes fellow democracies the United States, Japan and Australia. Beijing has repeatedly alleged that the four-way partnership, first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, was created as a way of containing China. — AFP
Kuwait Times
8 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Suspects on trial over Moscow venue attack
MOSCOW: Nineteen people went on trial in Moscow on Monday over an attack on a city concert hall that killed 149 people in one of the deadliest strikes in Russia. Armed men stormed the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow on March 22, 2024, opening fire and then setting the building alight, injuring hundreds of people. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility. The four suspected attackers, all from Tajikistan—an ex-Soviet republic in central Asia—and another 15 people accused of being accomplices have gone on trial. An AFP reporter at the courtroom before saw some of the defendants in glass cages, their hands cuffed behind their backs. Around 30 survivors were also present. One of them, Tatiana Ruzanova, told AFP she came to the court to see the defendants. 'They all sit quietly with their heads slumped in cages... I didn't see if they felt guilty, they all had their heads down,' Ruzanova said. On the night of the attack, she came to the concert of the Russian rock group Piknik with a friend but did not make it inside the hall. 'We saw everyone already in the foyer, maybe that saved us. We inhaled smoke. It was a miracle that we didn't make it,' Ruzanova said. Subsequent hearings were to take place on Tuesday and Thursday, according to the court's website. The judge ordered the trial to proceed behind closed doors. The attack shocked Russia, which has been battling Ukraine in a military offensive since February 24, 2022. Despite IS claiming responsibility, Russia implicated Ukraine in the attack, an allegation that Kyiv called baseless and absurd. The massacre ignited a debate about the reintroduction of the death penalty. Some hardline politicians publicly called for a moratorium, observed since 1996, to be lifted. It also sparked a wave of xenophobia against central Asian migrants in Russia. Nearly half of the victims were killed by smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation from the fire that broke out, rather than from gunshot wounds, the state TASS news agency reported on Sunday, citing case materials. Ekaterina Klimenko, who survived the attack, told AFP she hoped for a 'fair decision' from the judges. 'I still go to concerts, but intuitively I look around with my eyes to see if there is any danger,' she said. – AFP
Kuwait Times
9 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Filmmakers try to cash in on India Pakistan battle
Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from the patriotism fanned by a four-day conflict with Pakistan, which killed more than 70 people. The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone and air strikes in May, after India blamed Pakistan for an armed attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. The fighting came to an end when US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire. Now, some Bollywood filmmakers see an opportunity to cash in on the battle. India tagged its military action against Pakistan 'Operation Sindoor', the Hindi word for vermilion, which married Hindu women wear on their foreheads. The name was seen as a symbol of Delhi's determination to avenge those widowed in the April 22 attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam, which sparked the hostilities. Film studios have registered a slew of titles evoking the operation, including: 'Mission Sindoor', 'Sindoor: The Revenge', 'The Pahalgam Terror', and 'Sindoor Operation'. 'It's a story which needs to be told,' said director Vivek Agnihotri. 'If it was Hollywood, they would have made 10 films on this subject. People want to know what happened behind the scenes,' he told AFP. Agnihotri struck box office success with his 2022 release, 'The Kashmir Files', based on the mass flight of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s. (From left) Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone attend a promotional event for their upcoming Indian Hindi-language action film 'Fighter' in Mumbai on January 23, 2024. A woman wearing a T-shirt featuring 'OPERATION SINDOOR' checks her mobile phone near a market area in Ludhiana on May 17, 2025. Indian actor Vicky Kaushal and bollywood actress Yami Gautam pose for photographs during the promotion of the upcoming film 'Uri' on the occasion of the Republic Day celebrations at the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, some 35 kms from Amritsar on January 26, 2019. Colored narratives The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party gave that film a glowing endorsement, despite accusations that it aimed to stir up hatred against India's minority Muslims. Since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, some critics say Bollywood is increasingly promoting his government's ideology. Raja Sen, a film critic and screenwriter, said filmmakers felt emboldened by an amenable government. 'We tried to wage a war and then we quietened down when Mr Trump asked us to. So what is the valor here?' Sen told AFP of the Pakistan clashes. Anil Sharma, known for directing rabble-rousing movies, criticized the apparent rush to make films related to the Pahalgam attack. 'This is herd mentality... these are seasonal filmmakers, they have their constraints,' he said. 'I don't wait for an incident to happen and then make a film based on that. A subject should evoke feelings and only then cinema happens,' said Sharma. Sharma's historical action flick 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' (2001) and its sequel 'Gadar 2' (2023), both featuring Sunny Deol in lead roles, were big hits. In Bollywood, filmmakers often seek to time releases for national holidays like Independence Day, which are associated with heightened patriotic fervor. 'Fighter', featuring big stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, was released on the eve of India's Republic Day on January 25 last year. Anti-Muslim bias Though not a factual retelling, it drew heavily from India's 2019 airstrike on Pakistan's Balakot. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews but raked in $28 million in India, making it the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of that year. This year, 'Chhaava', a drama based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, a ruler of the Maratha Empire, became the highest-grossing film so far this year. It also generated significant criticism for fueling anti-Muslim bias. 'This is at a time when cinema is aggressively painting Muslim kings and leaders in violent light,' said Sen. 'This is where those who are telling the stories need to be responsible about which stories they choose to tell.' Sen said filmmakers were reluctant to choose topics that are 'against the establishment'. 'If the public is flooded with dozens of films that are all trying to serve an agenda, without the other side allowed to make itself heard, then that propaganda and misinformation enters the public psyche,' he said. Acclaimed director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said true patriotism is promoting peace and harmony through the medium of cinema. Mehra's socio-political drama 'Rang De Basanti' (2006) won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film and was chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. 'How we can arrive at peace and build a better society? How we can learn to love our neighbors?' he asked. 'For me that is patriotism.' – AFP
