The First Western District Military Court in St. Petersburg has sentenced Tajik citizen Qudrat Qurbonov to six years in prison for justifying the terrorist attack at the Crocus City hall online, TASS reported on March 13.
"The court found Qurbonov guilty of committing a crime under Article 205.2 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — public justification of terrorism' and sentenced him to six years in prison, with the first three years to be served in a prison, and the remainder of the sentence in a high-security penal colony," the agency's source said.
According to the case materials, on March 24-25, 2024, the convicted individual posted messages on Telegram justifying the terrorists who attacked visitors at the Crocus City Hall.
Qurbonov reportedly arrived in Russia for work in August 2025. He later admitted to being a supporter of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, which is banned in Tajikistan and Russia, and expressed his intention to "fight against the infidels" and become a "martyr."
The terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow oblast occurred on March 22, 2024, before a concert by the band "Piknik." Armed individuals stormed the building, opened fire, and set the concert hall on fire. As a result, nearly 150 people were killed, and more than 550 were injured. After the attack, four perpetrators – Tajik citizens Muhammadsobir Faizov, Dalerjon Mirzoyev, Saidakram Rajabalisoda, and Faridoun Shamsiddin – attempted to flee but were found and arrested.
In related news, on March 12, the Western District Military Court in Moscow sentenced 15 individuals involved in the Crocus City Hall attack, including four direct perpetrators of the attack, to life imprisonment, while four others received sentences ranging from 19 to 22 years.
