Watan-In an unusual move, Russia released photos of the four individuals it claimed carried out the armed attack on the music hall on the outskirts of the capital Moscow, showing them tortured.
In the scenes broadcasted, the four men suspected of carrying out the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia for decades, claimed by D’aach, appeared in front of a court in Moscow with signs indicating they had been tortured.
One of them had a partially severed ear
One of them had a partially severed ear, while another sat on an orange wheelchair with his left eye swollen, and others appeared with blood stains and bandages on their faces.
The New York Times reported that many followers of the suspects’ trial worldwide, including Russians, were already aware of what had happened to them, pointing to the widespread dissemination of videos documenting their torture during interrogation.
Analysts described this action as a clear revenge for the attack, which resulted in the deaths of at least 139 people and the injury of 180 others.
One of the most disturbing videos showed one of the suspects, identified as Said Karami M. Rajabali Zud, with part of his ear cut off and placed in his mouth.
A circulated image on the internet showed a battery connected to the genitalia of another suspect, named Shamseddin Faridoni, while in custody.
According to the American newspaper, it was not immediately clear how the videos started circulating, but they were disseminated through nationalist Telegram channels supportive of the war and closely linked to Russian security agencies.
Reasons for displaying torture scenes
Despite the most gruesome clips not being shown on state television, the brutal treatment of the suspects was evident.
Analysts saw the Russian authorities’ decision to display the matter publicly before the court, in a manner they had rarely done before, as a “sign of revenge and warning to potential terrorists.”
Olga Sadovskaya from the Committee Against Torture, a Russian human rights organization, stated that in modern Russian history, torture videos had never been shown on state television.
She added: “There was an intention to distribute the videos… first, to show people who might plan another terrorist attack what could happen to them, and second, to show society that there is revenge for all the suffering people endured in this terrorist attack.”
Sadovskaya and other analysts pointed out that the blatant display of the tortured individuals revealed another aspect: to what extent Russian society had become militarized and tolerant of violence since the start of the war in Ukraine.
In a related context, Andrei Soldatov, an expert on Russian security agencies, explained, “This is a sign of how far we have gone in accepting new methods of waging war.”