As someone who publicly condemned my own government for flouting due process and justifying torture in the aftermath of 9/11 when many Americans were understandably angry and scared, I’m not applying double standards when I condemn the behavior displayed by Russian authorities toward the Crocus City Hall terror suspects. Although these men are likely the right guys associated with the heinous crime in question, they have not had a trial with due process. This kind of behavior is unethical and counterproductive as a practice or policy, regardless of how repugnant the alleged crime is. No police department in the world in infallible and there’s always the possibility of having the wrong person in custody. When subjected to torture, the recipient will tell you what you want to hear to make the pain stop, so obtaining accurate and useful information was clearly not the priority in this situation. as I’ve seen some people whose analysis I’ve respected in the past try to argue

Putin is a lawyer and, though he gets no credit for it in the west, his government made a lot of progress in his earlier terms in laying the foundation of the rule of law in Russia, including improving due process rights. He knows better. Apparently, he’s letting emotion supersede reason on this issue when it comes to individuals accused of terrorism. – Natylie

Moscow Times, 3/26/24

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has criticized the alleged violent detention of the four suspected gunmen in last week’s deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall, state media reported Tuesday.

“Despite the drastic nature of detaining criminals and no criminal punishment stipulated for actions that inflict harm during detention, it’s absolutely inadmissible to use torture against detainees and accused persons,” Moskalkova told reporters.

“Any procedural operational actions must be carried out in accordance with the law,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted her as saying.

Russian authorities detained 11 people in connection with Friday’s attack, which saw four camouflaged gunmen storm into Crocus City Hall, open fire indiscriminately and set the building ablaze, killing at least 139 people.

Unverified graphic footage of the suspects’ interrogations published on social media led some observers to conclude that the men were tortured by law enforcement.

Footage of the four main suspects’ detention appeared to show one getting his ear cut off and forced into his mouth, while another was shown with an electric device attached to his genitals. A third suspect appeared in court with cuts and bruises on his face and a fourth was brought into the courtroom unconscious on a medical gurney.

Reuters said it was able to verify that the four men in the detention footage were the same as those who appeared in court on Sunday.

The Kremlin on Monday declined to comment on the alleged torture of the suspected shooters.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court has ordered seven suspects to be placed in custody until May 22 to await trial on terrorism charges. An eighth suspect is expected in court as soon as Tuesday, according to TASS.

Islamic State jihadists have said several times since Friday that they were responsible, and IS-affiliated media channels have published graphic bodycam footage from the gunmen inside the venue.

President Vladimir Putin for the first time on Monday acknowledged the role of “radical Islamists” in the attack but still linked them to Ukraine, which denied the accusations as absurd.

Moskalkova previously expressed disapproval of the recorded beating of a Russian teenager under arrest for burning the Quran by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s son.

The teenager, Nikita Zhuravel, was this year sentenced to 3.5 years in jail.

No investigation was conducted into Zhuravel’s beating in detention by Adam Kadyrov.