19 convicted for Moscow concert hall attack claimed by ISIS that killed 149 people

A Moscow court sentenced 19 people on Thursday for their involvement in the Shooting in 2024 at a Moscow concert hall that killed 149 people and injured more than 600 in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in years.

A faction of the terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility for the March 22, 2024, massacre at the Crocus City Hall concert hall where four armed men shot at people who were waiting for a show by a popular rock band and then set fire to the building.

The 19 defendants were sentenced to long prison terms: 15 were sentenced to life imprisonment, one to 22 and a half years in prison and three others to 19 years and 11 months each.

The trial began in August 2025 in a military court, as is customary in terrorism cases, and took place behind closed doors, with authorities citing security concerns.

President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have claimed, without providing evidence, that Ukraine played a role in the attack. Kyiv has strongly denied any involvement.

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s main criminal investigation agency, has said the attack had been “planned and carried out in the interests of the current leadership of Ukraine in order to destabilize the political situation in our country.” He also noted that the four alleged gunmen later tried to flee to Ukraine.

The four, all identified as citizens of Tajikistan, were detained hours after the attack.

The suspects, identified as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Fayzov, appeared before a Russian court showing signs of severe beatings.

Standing on trial alongside them were three men who sold a car to the alleged gunmen, a man to whom they rented an apartment and 10 others accused of terrorist links, according to Russian independent news site Mediazona.

The attack in Moscow came two weeks after the United States warned of a possible attack on large gatherings in the Russian capital. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow had publicly advised Americans to stay away from events, including concert halls, due to the potential for a terrorist attack.

“Like yesterday”

The verdict was announced before the day that marks two years since the murders.

“For all of us it’s like yesterday,” Ivan Pomorin, who was filming the concert at Crocus Hall at the time, told the Agence France-Presse news agency in court.

“For us, the victims and the victims’ families, it is not clear whether everyone will be brought to justice, it seems that these are not the people who could organize it, the investigation committee should continue working,” he added.

The four gunmen, who were between 20 and 31 years old at the time, worked in various professions, including taxi driver, factory employee and bricklayer.

They were in the defendants’ glass cage, surrounded by security guards.

According to media reports, Mirzoyev’s brother died fighting in Syria, possibly leading to his radicalization.

The state news agency TASS reported this month, citing a lawyer, that two of the defendants had asked the court to be sent to fight in Ukraine instead of life in prison.