Kremlin: No Comment on Alleged Torture of Suspects

Four suspects arrested by Russia in Friday's concert hall massacre appeared in a Moscow courtroom late Sunday, and all four bore signs of severe beatings, reports the BBC.

• No comment: Asked about the bruises, bandages, swollen faces, one suspect's need of a wheelchair, and interrogation videos that appeared on social media suggesting torture, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded: "No, I leave this question unanswered."
• The four: The men are migrant laborers from Tajikistan identified as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32; Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30; Shamsidin Fariduni, 25; and Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19, per the AP. A court statement said two of them (Mirzoyev and Rachabalizoda) pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.

• Gruesome: Rachabalizoda had a large bandage on the side of his head, "where interrogators had sliced off a part of his ear and forced it into his mouth," reports the New York Times, citing Russian media accounts that described a video in circulation. Faizov, meanwhile, was rolled into court in a wheelchair with medics by his side and "appeared to be barely conscious" during the hearing.
• Death toll: The attack on the Crocus City Hall venue killed at least 137 people, with ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State, claiming responsibility. (Read more about the affiliate here.) Seven more people have been detained in addition to the four men, whose fleeing car was intercepted after the attack.

(More Russia Crocus shooting stories.)