– Suspects in Moscow terror attack showed signs of abuse in court
– Online videos showed suspects being tortured by Russia’s security services
– Russia’s security services are openly showcasing their brutality, with officials involved in abuse being given honors.
The suspects in the Moscow terror attack, accused of murdering 137 people, appeared in court showing clear signs of abuse and torture. Some suspects had severe injuries, including swollen eyes, facial bruises, and one with a plastic bag still attached to his neck, indicating signs of asphyxiation torture. Online videos showed one suspect having part of his ear cut off and forced into his mouth, while another had electrodes attached to his genitals. The Kremlin has refused to comment on the allegations of abuse. Russian security services have a history of torture and abuse, but the open display of brutality in this case is shocking even to analysts.
The severity of the abuse is unprecedented, with the knife used to sever one suspect’s ear being auctioned off on a neo-Nazi linked Telegram channel. Russian authorities have honored officials involved in the arrests, further highlighting the normalization of violence. The abuse of terror suspects in Russia has been documented before, but never so openly and without consequences for the perpetrators. The incidents show how militarized and tolerant of violence Russian society has become, particularly since the start of the Ukraine war.
The treatment of the Moscow terror suspects marks a new milestone in the normalization of brutality by officials in Putin’s Russia. Despite international condemnation, the Kremlin seems to welcome such blatant criminality. The lack of consequences for the torturers sends a clear signal that this level of abuse is accepted in Russian society. Analysts are concerned about the implications of this open display of brutality and the message it sends about the state of human rights and rule of law in Russia.