Overview

• Nineteen people, including four Tajik nationals accused of carrying out the March 22, 2024 assault, went on trial in a Moscow military court on August 4.
• Court documents show the defendants face charges spanning recruitment, training, organization and direct participation in the massacre that left 149 dead and over 600 injured.
• Although ISIS-K claimed responsibility, Russian officials have asserted without presenting evidence that Ukraine was involved, a claim Kyiv has firmly denied.
• Human rights monitors and press accounts note that some defendants appeared in court with signs of severe beating and that proceedings have been ordered behind closed doors.
• The trial is taking place amid a wave of anti-migrant measures and xenophobic backlash against Central Asian workers after the attackers’ Tajik origins.