Shamsiddin Fariduni, 26, has become the only one of the four primary defendants in the March 2024 terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow to fully admit guilt and express remorse, according to case materials cited by TASS.
“He has fully admitted guilt. He regrets his actions,” the case documents state.
The three other main suspects — Mukhammadsobir Fayzov, Saidakram Rachabalizoda, and Dalerjon Mirzoev — have also confessed, but did not express regret, TASS notes.
Fariduni is a citizen of Tajikistan who previously lived with his family in the village of Loyobi, roughly 50 kilometers from Dushanbe. He had worked in construction and later at a bakery in the town of Gissar. Investigators say he personally visited Crocus City Hall multiple times in preparation for the attack and was photographed standing near a poster for the rock group Piknik, who were scheduled to perform the night of the assault.
The case materials reveal that the original plan was for the attackers to resist arrest and die as suicide fighters. However, according to Rachabalizoda, one of the accused, their handler — a man named Saifullo — changed the plan a day before the attack. The new instruction was for the assailants to survive and travel to Ukraine, where they were promised one million rubles each for carrying out the assault.
Rachabalizoda said this promise of payment was why the group fled Crocus in a Renault vehicle, heading toward Bryansk Region, near the Ukrainian border, where they expected to be met by a group that would assist their crossing.
He also disclosed that escape plans were coordinated through a Telegram channel called “Voice of Khorasan”, which operated in Tajik and Persian. Rachabalizoda admitted that he had planned to stay in Ukraine, which he viewed as Russia’s enemy — and thus, the enemy of Islamic State (ISIS) and its Afghan branch Wilayat Khorasan, which the attackers had pledged allegiance to before the assault.
The Crocus City Hall terrorist attack occurred on March 22, 2024, just before a concert by Russian rock group Piknik in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow. Four armed men in camouflage stormed the venue, opening fire on attendees and then setting the building on fire. The blaze engulfed all four floors and the roof. The attackers fled the scene in the same car they had arrived in.
The death toll reached 149 people, with one still missing and 609 injured. Property damage was estimated at 6 billion rubles (approx. $67 million).
So far, 27 individuals have been charged, including the four assailants, three people who sold them the car, and others who rented them an apartment or sent them money. The investigation includes over 1,700 victims and 800 witnesses.
Russia’s Investigative Committee alleges the attack was orchestrated in Ukraine’s interests and aimed at destabilizing Russia’s political situation.
