Russia’s human rights commissioner Tetyana Moskalkova said on Tuesday that the torture of suspects arrested in connection with the Crocus City Hall attack was “absolutely unacceptable,” Reuters reported.

The suspects in the armed attack in Moscow were detained for two monthsPhoto: Oleksandr Zemlyanichenko / AP / AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Oleksandr Zemlyanichenko / Olga MALTSEVA / AFP / Profimedia

She made the comments to the state-run TASS news agency after the four alleged attackers appeared on video before a Moscow court on Monday and were beaten and tortured while in custody.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced a few hours after the attack that all four suspects had been detained in the Bryansk region. Three of them pleaded guilty in court on Monday, while the fourth was brought into the courtroom unconscious.

All four already had visible injuries from Sunday, the first day they appeared in court.

Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov on Monday refused to comment on whether they were tortured during interrogation. He was asked about this at the daily press conference.

Responding to this question of TASS, the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized that torture of detainees and defendants is prohibited by Russian legislation.

The use of torture is prohibited by the Constitution of Russia

“Despite the fact that the detention of criminals can be very important and the criminal law stipulates that harmful actions during detention do not entail criminal liability, the use of torture against detainees and defendants is absolutely unacceptable,” said Tetyana Moskalkova.

She added that any procedural and operational actions should be carried out in accordance with the law.

Despite withdrawing from numerous international treaties after the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia still remains one of the countries that adheres to the UN Convention against Torture.

The use of torture is also prohibited by the Russian Constitution, but several UN investigations conducted after the invasion have documented its widespread use against prisoners of war and civilians in the occupied territories.

A report published by the UN back in September 2022 showed that the Russian occupation forces and authorities use torture, rape, extrajudicial executions and deportations as tools to terrorize the civilian population.