The Crocus City Hall attack: the suspects’ tortures signals about the Kremlin’s weakness and revenge for the special services’ failure

The way Russian law enforcement officers treat the alleged suspects of the deadly terrorist attack at the Moscow Crocus City Hall indicates that Russian chauvinism and nationalism have made abusing Muslims as a common practice the Russian security forces used to have both abroad (Syria, Libya, Central African Republic, Sudan) and within the country. The Russians tortured and abused the reportedly suspects whose guilt had not yet been proven in court. Using tortures and violent methods, the investigative authorities tried to get some evidence of the specific forces’ involvement in the terrorist attack despite the fact that Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS–K) had already claimed the responsibility for the shooting. Thus, the methods of investigating and evidence obtaining give no hope for the objective investigation. Moreover, the investigation process will be probably politicized in the conditions when the Russian security high-rank officials were pre-informed about the preparation of the terrorist attack and its organizers, but decided to benefit from the tragedy and blame geopolitical opponents. Moscow tried to play the role of the Inquisition in the anti-Islam Crusade, which since the Chechen wars has been equated in Russia with terrorism, at least at the level of ideology and stereotypes in the security forces. The documented facts of the desecration of mosques in Libya, as well as religion-based provocations in Europe confirm this reality.

Our predictions that the Kremlin is trying to blame Ukraine and the United States of the terrorist attack in order to consolidate society around President Putin and mobilize Russians for war with Ukraine have been confirmed. Moscow is seeking to hide the FSB’s failure in preventing the terrorist attack, which the security establishment has been informed in advance by Washington, both publicly and through intelligence channels.

Using media the domestic intelligence (FSB) plays for radicalizing the society against Muslim migrants.

Some Russian news article state the management of one of the federal television channels gave specific instructions to the journalists such as ‘to tell indirectly, but emphasize’ in their materials how the ‘real picture’ of the suspects in the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack ‘differs from what you can see on their social media pages’.

The public share of photos and videos of the tortured ‘was authorized’ with the preventive purpose. However, on the contrary, these very actions of the Russian law enforcement officers portray the suspects as martyrs. There is a high probability that in this way the Kremlin only fuels new terrorist acts against Russia.

The photos and videos of torturing immigrants from Tajikistan accused of attacking the Crocus City Hall were shared in telegram channels cooperating with Russian military and law enforcement agencies a few hours after their arrest.

There are online photos and videos showing that the suspects had been detained with particular cruelty: one man got part of his ear cut off and had this piece in the mouth, another detainee had his eye missing. As tortures the Russians also burned genitals and cut fingers. Another photo showed possible evidence of electric shocks against one of the suspects. Documented evidence of the treatment of Muslim suspects from Tajikistan shows that the used tortures are similar to the extrajudicial execution of a Syrian citizen suspected of ISIS-links conduct by Wagner Group militants in Syria. The similar evidence of war crimes committed by Russian soldiers Ukraine submitted to the UN.We are convinced that the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack will worsen interethnic relations in Russia. Local neo-Nazi groups, including the Restrukt movement (leader is Tesak) have already joined in attacking and bulling people of Asian origin. In social networks one can see the slogan ‘Russia is for Russians’. At present time, there are numerous signals that in various regions of Russia labor migrants from Central Asia are discriminated. In some cases, their life and health are endangered. There is a high probability that a significant part of migrants from Central Asia will be either sent from Russia to fight in Ukraine, in fact, to die there, or will be deported from the country.