Muhammadsobir Fayzov arrived in a wheelchair and with his eyes closed in the courtroom in Moscow on Sunday March 24. Saidakrami Rachabalizoda appeared with a huge bandage covering his ear. A third, Dalerjon Mirzoyev, appeared before the judges with a plastic bag around his neck and traces of cuts on his face.

All three, as well as a fourth individual with an equally swollen face, are accused of having participated in the terrorist attack which plunged Russia into mourning on Friday March 22. At least 139 people died during this attack targeting a Moscow concert hall, the Crocus City Hall. A bloody attack, the deadliest on European soil, claimed by the Islamist State terrorist organization, which shocked the country and the international community.

Two of the four suspects pleaded guilty after the hearing which was held behind closed doors, the court said. They were then all placed in pre-trial detention for at least two months, which corresponds to the legal time limit.

Accepted state violence

The wide broadcast on television of the swollen faces of the suspects did not fail to spark the start of controversy around the use of torture. Especially since very explicit videos have circulated on Telegram channels known to be close to the Russian intelligence services. One suggests that one of the suspects had part of his ear cut off, which was then forced into his mouth. Another photo shows a second defendant with electrical wires connected to his private parts.

“It is absolutely unacceptable to resort to torture against suspects,” declared Tatiana Moskalkova, the very “Putinian” human rights delegate to the Russian president. It thus echoed the denunciations by several NGOs of what looks like confessions obtained by force. Questioned by the American channel CNN, the Kremlin refused to respond to these accusations of torture. Dmitri Medvedev, the former Russian prime minister who became one of the Kremlin's most virulent propagandists, welcomed the "fate" reserved for the suspects, even going so far as to promise that they would "all be killed" .  

It is also the media coverage of the violence inflicted on these suspected terrorists which is of concern. “This portrayal of what looks like torture against prisoners is unprecedented in Russia,” assures Stephen Hall, a Russia specialist at the University of Bath, in England.

Certainly, the Russian security services are known to easily resort to violence during their interrogations, but "until now the authorities have sought to conceal this aspect as much as possible", confirms Jeff Hawn, Russia specialist at the London School of Economics. . In 2021, videos showing acts of torture inflicted on prisoners, made public by the human rights NGO Gulagu.ru, sparked “an embarrassed silence from the Russian authorities”, recalls Jeff Hawn.

Even in the case of the death of the famous opponent Alexeï Navalny, announced on February 16, 2024, the authorities had dragged their feet in handing over the remains to his family. One of the reasons given by his supporters at the time to explain this slowness was the desire to hide as long as possible the traces of torture inflicted on the activist before his death.

A deduction that the Kremlin seems to have put aside for the attack on Crocus City Hall. One of the reasons is that "Russian public opinion has a very high tolerance for the use of torture in three cases: terrorism, crimes against children and cases of serial killers", explains Olga Sadovskaya, member of the NGO Team Against Torture, interviewed by the independent Russian daily The Moscow Times.

The image of a strong power after criticism

There is little risk, therefore, for the government of being too strongly criticized by the Russians, even though the use of torture is illegal under their penal code.

This over-media coverage of the brutality of the security services also serves as a double signal, say the experts interviewed by France 24. First, "it is a way of trying to dissuade other potential terrorists from taking action." notes Stephen Hall. Then, the government also seeks to regain control "of the narrative around this attack by pretending to be the 'hardliners' who are not afraid to strike hard to protect the population", underlines Jeff Hawn.

It became all the more urgent for Moscow to display its (very) fierce determination as the security forces were initially heavily criticized. "The terrorist attack highlighted the 'masquerade' of the Russian security system", judged Russia specialist Jérémy Morris, in an article published by the Moscow Times on Monday March 25.

For the Kremlin, this attack also constitutes an opportunity to get rid of "the last appearances of respect for human rights", notes Stephen Hall. “Russian power has long sought validation from the West for better coexistence, in particular by showing itself attached to the formal defense of human rights. But since February 2022 [start of the invasion of Ukraine, Editor's note], there's no longer any point in going to all this trouble since the West has become the enemy. Hence this trivialization of violence," says Jeff Hawn.

The probable use of torture against suspects in the Crocus City Hall attack also demonstrates that "establishing the truth is not a priority for the Russian authorities", believes Stephen Hall. Confessions obtained by electric shock to the genitals or other brutality have little legal value, under international law or Russian law.

What does the truth matter?

The photos of the suspects in court or the videos that circulated on social networks should be godsends for defense lawyers, estimates the independent Russian news site Meduza. But there is no indication that the court-appointed lawyers raised this issue during the hearing.

“Appearances and the narrative – a strong state that knew how to react to the tragedy – prevail over the truth,” summarizes Jeff Hawn. For this expert, the use of torture also ensures that suspects will not want to, or will no longer be able, to question the official version that is emerging.

Namely, as Vladimir Putin said, that the attack was certainly committed by “radical Islamists”, but on the orders of “sponsors”. His main adviser on security issues, Nikolai Patrushev, did not hesitate to name them, telling the independent Belarusian channel Belsat that "Ukraine was responsible".

The France 24 summary of the week

invites you to look back at the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 application