Four men were detained over the attack on #Moscow. They are expected to face life in prison.
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00:00 Four men have been charged over the attack on a Moscow concert hall that left at least 137 people dead.
00:07 The suspects, who Russian media say are Tajik nationals, appeared in court in Moscow
00:12 and had apparently been badly beaten.
00:14 They were remanded in custody on terrorism charges.
00:17 The Islamic State group said its members carried out Friday's attack, claims backed by US and French intelligence.
00:24 France has now raised its terror alerts to the highest level after the attack.
00:28 The Kremlin says it believes that Ukraine was involved.
00:32 Let's talk now to our correspondent Dasha Chernysheva, who is in Moscow.
00:36 Dasha, what happened when these men appeared in court?
00:39 The four men have been previously detained in the Bransk region as they were trying to escape to Ukraine,
00:50 according to the Russian authorities, having indeed appeared in court.
00:53 That happened late Sunday night.
00:55 They were, according to the pictures that we have received, badly beaten, their faces swollen.
01:01 One of them has appeared in court wearing a medical robe accompanied by the doctors.
01:06 They all were faced, they were all charged with terrorism.
01:10 At least two of them have pleaded guilty.
01:12 They will remain in the pretrial detention in the 22nd of May.
01:16 This is when the court hearing and the trial is expected to take place.
01:20 We understand that they all faced lifetime in prison.
01:24 Obviously, there has been a lot of discussion with regards to the investigation,
01:28 but the Kremlin did not provide any comments saying that it is the very sensitive information.
01:34 Neither did the Kremlin comment on the state and the treatment of the suspects.
01:39 We also understand from the Russian officials that the investigation is ongoing
01:44 without the help of the Western intelligence, with the Russian officials saying
01:49 that the Russian intelligence is doing everything possible to defend Russia against the threats
01:53 and challenges that the country is facing.
01:55 Dasha, the Kremlin continuing to claim that Ukraine was involved in this attack.
02:00 Well, to the moment, the Kremlin did not provide more comments apart from what we know.
02:10 They have said, however, that no coherent version of the investigators have been provided so far.
02:16 So, the Russian president has said that Ukraine could be involved because of the opening
02:23 that was allegedly prepared for these four men in the border with Ukraine.
02:28 However, many experts say that if there is an opening prepared on the Ukrainian side,
02:32 there has to be an opening prepared on the Russian side as well.
02:35 So, there are many questions with regards to that.
02:37 But the Russian authorities have not publicly made any reference to the Islamic State banned in Russia.
02:43 At the same time, we are hearing the Russian authorities and the Kremlin itself saying
02:48 that Russia understands the necessity of international cooperation when it comes to the international fight against terrorism.
02:55 Saying that at the moment, however, with the increasingly escalated international situation
03:02 in terms of the geopolitics, it is very hard to continue this cooperation.
03:07 But nevertheless, it is a non-stop process.
03:10 So, from the Russian side, we haven't had any reference to the Islamic State,
03:14 even though the U.S. embassy has been warning Russia of a possible terrorist attack in the Russian capital.
03:20 And also, we have heard from the U.S. officials saying that the videos released by the Islamic State following this attack are authentic.
03:29 Dasha, thank you very much.
03:31 Our correspondent, Dasha Chernysheva in Moscow.