Sawt Falasteen - Russia jails 15 for life over 2024 concert hall attack

Relatives of some of the victims in the March 22, 2024 attack -- claimed by Islamic State (IS) -- stood in the grand Moscow military court as the verdict was read out.

Shamsidin Fariduni, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Makhammadsobir Fayzov and Saidakrami Rachabolizoda -- all Tajik citizens who went on a shooting spree in the building before setting it on fire -- looked down as the judge sentenced them to life.

Eleven other men -- some Russian citizens -- were also jailed for life for acting as accomplices and of having terrorist links.

Four more men -- including a father and his sons -- were handed sentences of between 19 and 22 years over their links with the men.

The attack in the Moscow surburbs was Russia's worst since the 2004 Beslan school siege.

The gunmen entered the concert hall shortly before a concert by Soviet-era rock band Picnic. They then set fire to the building, trapping many victims. The attack wounded more than 600 people. Six children were among those killed.

The attack came two years into Moscow's war in Ukraine, with Russia -- bogged down by the offensive -- dismissing US warnings of an imminent attack.

The Kremlin had suggested a Ukrainian connection at the time of the attack, but never provided evidence.

Russia's Investigative Committee said after the verdict it was "reliably established" that the attack was "planned and committed in the interests of" Kyiv.

It accused the men of also plotting attacks in Dagestan.

- 'Like yesterday' -

The verdict came ahead of the second anniversary of the killings.

"For us all it's like yesterday," Ivan Pomorin, who was filming the Crocus Hall concert at the time, told AFP in the court.

"For us, the victims and relatives of the victims, it is not clear whether everyone is brought to justice, it looks like these are not the people who could organise it, the investigative committee should continue to work," he added.

The four gunmen -- aged 20 to 31 at the time -- worked in various professions, among them was a taxi driver, factory employee and construction worker.

They stood in the glass defendant's cage, surrounded by security guards.

According to media reports, Mirzoyev's brother was killed fighting in Syria, possibly leading to his radicalisation.

Hours after the attack, Russia brought them to court with signs of torture -- including one barely conscious in a wheelchair. Social media videos linked to security services showed bloody interrogations.

TASS state news agency reported this month, citing a lawyer, that two of them -- Dzhabrail Aushyev and Khusein Medov -- had asked the court to be sent to fight in Ukraine instead of a life sentence.

- Anti-migrant turn -

Throughout its offensive, Russia has recruited prisoners for its military campaign, offering a buy-out from their sentences should they survive.

According to the lawyer quoted by TASS, Medov said he wanted to "redeem his guilt with blood."

Prosecutors had also demanded that relatives of one of the gunmen be stripped of their Russian citizenship.

Russia -- already undergoing a conservative social turn during the war -- upped anti-migrant laws and rhetoric after the attack.

This has led to tensions with Moscow's allies in Central Asia, some of whom have confronted Russia and called on it to respect the rights of their citizens.

Russia's economy has for years been heavily reliant on millions of Central Asian migrants.

But their flow to Russia dipped after Moscow launched its Ukraine campaign and some Central Asians also held back from going to Russia after the post-Crocus migrant crackdowns.

P.AbuBaker--SF-PST