The ambassadors laid flowers at the site of last week’s attack on a Moscow concert hall where at least 144 people were killed by a group of gunmen
Foreign diplomats from the United States, EU countries, Africa and Latin America have joined thousands who laid flowers, wreaths and other tokens such as teddy bears, to create a makeshift memorial outside the Crocus City Hall music.
At least 144 people were killed and 551 were injured when gunmen shot at thousands of concertgoers and set the building alight on 22 March, the deadliest attack in the country in years.
The carnage happened before a concert at the venue in Krasnogorsk, a northern Moscow suburb, by the band Picnic.
Russian authorities arrested four Tajikistan nationals – Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakram Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Faizov – on the day of the attack.
The Kremlin says the men were trying to flee to Ukraine when they were captured; Kyiv has denied any involvement and called Moscow’s claims ”absurd”.
An affiliate of the Islamic State group (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack in a short statement published by news agency Amaq on Telegram but did not provide evidence to support the claim.
A total of nine suspects have faced court, some of whom appear to have been beaten, and have been remanded in pre-trial detention.
Four of the men are charged with the offence of ‘terror attack committed by a group of individuals resulting in a person’s death’.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had detained one person on suspicion of financing the attack. It did not give further details of the suspect’s identity or alleged actions.
