More than 1,700 people have been officially recognized as victims in the ongoing investigation into the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow oblast. 

Mediazona says this is stated in a ruling handed down by Moscow’s Basmanny district court to extend the arrest of four defendants.  

The court ruling reportedly states that “over 1,700 people have been recognized and questioned as victims, while more than 800 individuals have been interrogated as witnesses.”

The extensive probe has reportedly also involved more than 20 searches, over 65 crime scene examinations, and the appointment of more than 650 various forensic examinations, including forensic medical, ballistic, molecular genetics, fire-technical, engineering-construction, and dactyloscopic analyses.

Media reports say there are 20 people accused;.18 of them are in pre-trial detention and two others are under the order not to leave.  In all likelihood, these are the people who are accused of providing services that do not meet safety requirements.

Recall, the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall occurred on March 22, 2024 as a Russian band was preparing to take the stage at its concert venue.  Four gunmen reportedly entered the hall.  They opened fire and set the concert hall ablaze.  More than 500 people were injured, and ultimately 144 people were killed.

Almost immediately, media reports identified the attackers as ethnic Tajiks.  Two days after the attack, four suspects appeared in a Moscow court, each bearing visible signs of torture – bruised eyes, a severed ear.  Their court appearance was prefaced by videos circulating on social media of their violent interrogations.  

The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, claimed responsibility for that terrorist attack.

The United States and other Western countries are confident that it was this group who organized the terrorist attack.

However, the Russian side still claims that Ukraine may be behind the terrorist attack, but Ukraine has categorically denied all accusations.

This terrorist attack was Russia’s worst terrorist attack in two decades.   

The life of Tajik migrant workers in Russia has consistently deteriorated in recent years, especially after the launch by Russia of the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022.  However, after the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, the pressure on labor migrants from Tajikistan has increased even more.