A police officer patrols in front of the burnt Crocus City Hall concert venue on 26 March. Photo: EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV
A Chechen man who was detained shortly after the Moscow concert hall terror attack on 22 March died in police custody within hours of his arrest, according to his mother, independent media outlet Agentstvo reported on Monday.
Masked police officers detained Askhab Uspanov at a bus stop on suspicion of involvement in the Crocus City Hall shooting, Chechen opposition Telegram channel 1ADAT reported on Friday
Askhab Usmanov. Photo: 1ADAT Telegram channel
Once in custody, Uspanov was apparently tortured and killed, with police officers attempting to fake his suicide, 1ADAT claimed, posting videos from the morgue showing that Uspanov had several broken ribs, a broken spine, and had suffered blows to his head before being hanged.
Uspanov first called his wife from the police station and told her “not to come for him”, as the police had “nothing on him”, Agentstvo reported, adding that he had subsequently called her back asking her to come get him and telling her he had “said something rude” to the police.
When Uspanov’s wife arrived at the police station two hours later she was told that her husband had died. “How come he’s dead, if I’ve just spoken to him,” she asked police officers, who responded: “You spoke to him, and now you won’t”.
His mother, Taisa Uspanova, said that her son had been buried in Chechnya, but did not specify when she had received his body or what was given as the official cause of death.
Uspanov’s mother told Agentstvo she believed in “God’s judgement” for those behind her son’s death. “Let God judge them. Aside from that, I also hope they will be brought to justice according to the Russian law.”
Russian authorities had previously announced the arrests of 12 people they said were connected with the Crocus City Hall attack, 10 of whom have been named and remanded in custody so far.
