February 2004 Moscow Metro bombing

February 2004 Moscow bombing
Part of Terrorism in Russia and Islamic terrorism in Europe
The location of the metro blast on the map of Moscow
Location	Moscow, Russia
Date	Friday, 6 February 2004 08:32 MSK (UTC+03:00)
Target	Moscow Metro train
Attack type	Suicide attack
Deaths	41
Injured	250
Perpetrators	Karachay Jamaat Idris Gloov Tambiy Khubiyev Murat Shavayev Anzor Izhayev (bomber)

Memorial table for 41 victims of bombing at the metro station Avtozavodskaya.

The February 2004 Moscow metro bombing occurred on 6 February 2004 when a male suicide bomber killed 41 people near Avtozavodskaya subway station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line in Moscow. Up to 250 people were injured in the incident,^[1] some of the more common injuries being broken bones and smoke inhalation.

Attack

The blast occurred at about 08:32 MSK on 6 February 2004 inside a subway car while it was moving in the tunnel near Avtozavodskaya station, on the metro system's Zamoskvoretskaya Line.^[2][3] A Karachay suicide bomber Anzor Izhayev from Uchkeken village^[4] detonated an improvised explosive device in his backpack.^[5]

President of Russia Vladimir Putin blamed Chechen separatists for the Moscow metro attack.^[6] Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov denied involvement.^[7]

A previously unknown Chechen terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bombing; the claim came from a group calling itself Gazoton Murdash, and signed by Lom-Ali ("Ali the Lion").^[8] According to the statement, the group launched the attack to mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of scores of Chechen civilians by Russian soldiers in Grozny in the Novye Aldi massacre.^[9]

Perpetrators

In May 2005, Tambiy Khubiyev and Maksim Panaryin (from the Karachay-Cherkess Republic^[10]) along with Murat Shavayev (a native of Kabardino-Balkaria^[10]) were arrested by Russian law enforcement agencies in connection with terrorist attacks in Moscow, Voronezh, and Krasnodar. All of the arrested were members of an Islamic militant group Karachay Jamaat (also known as «Muslim Society No 3»^[11]).^[5] Khubiyev confessed to organizing the bombings near Avtozavodskaya and Rizhskaya subway stations in Moscow^[5] and a series of explosions in Krasnodar in August 2003.^[12] Panaryin was a suspect in Voronezh bus stop bombings and an explosion next to Rizhskaya station.^[13][14] Shavayev was accused of being an accomplice to Khubiyev and Panaryin during their preparation of the terrorist attacks in Moscow. Murat Shavayev, who was an officer in the Russian Ministry of Justice, denied that he had been involved in any terrorist attacks.^[15] However, according to Tambiy Khubiyev's testimony, Murat had assisted Khubiyev and another terrorist, Idris Gloov (who was later killed by the police in a shootout in Stavropol Krai^[5]), in construction of the bomb that was used by Izhayev to blow up the subway car in February 2004. Khubiyev also linked Shavayev to the Rizhskaya station bombing in August 2004, stating that the latter had smuggled IED parts to Moscow prior to the attack.^[5]

Legal

The trial of the three bombing suspects was held in camera in Moscow City Court in 2006–2007. On 2 February 2007, the judge sentenced all the three to life in prison. Khubiyev and Shavayev each received two life terms for the Avtozavodskaya and Rizhskaya subway station bombings, while Panaryin was sentenced to life for only the August 2004 terrorist attack near Rizhskaya station. In addition to life terms, Shavayev was sentenced to 100, Khubiyev to 150, and Panaryin to 200 years imprisonment on other charges. The court also ordered the accused to pay more than 7 million rubles in moral damages to the victims of the attacks.^[16] Shavayev, Panaryin, and Khubiyev tried to appeal their sentences, but Supreme Court of Russia upheld the February 2007 verdict.^[17]

See also

• 1977 Moscow bombings
• March 2004 Madrid train bombings, a similar but larger attack.
• August 2004 Moscow Metro bombing
• 2010 Moscow Metro bombings
• 2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing

References

1. "Сотни москвичей принесли гвоздики на станцию метро "Автозаводская"" (in Russian). Regnum. 6 February 2005. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
2. Alexander Zelentsov; Masha Laufer; Igor Lisov; Oleg Makarov; Igor Pronin (9 February 2004). "Взрыв 6 февраля: Московский транспорт в чрезвычайной ситуации". TR.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
3. "Следующая станция…" (in Russian). Izvestia. 6 February 2004. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
4. Marina Perevozkina (7 October 2004). "Зомби из Учкекена" (in Russian). Moskovskij Komsomolets. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
5. Yuri Syun (27 June 2005). "Московские теракты объединили с воронежскими" (in Russian). Kommersant. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
6. "Путин: Теракт в московском метро может использоваться как рычаг давления на президента" (in Russian). Lenta.ru. 6 February 2004. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
7. "Основная версия следствия: теракт в метро совершил чеченский смертник" (in Russian). Lenta.ru. 6 February 2004. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
8. Anton Brazhitsa (2 March 2004). "Лом-Али поиграл в боевиков" (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. Archived from the original on 6 March 2004. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
9. Musa Muradov (3 March 2004). "Лом-Али с горы" (in Russian). Kommersant. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
10. "Без присяжных" (in Russian). Novye Izvestia. 25 October 2006. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
11. Alexander Shvarev (28 September 2004). "Лучший ученик" (in Russian). Vremya Novostei. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
12. "Краснодар взрывали, чтобы спасти Шамиля Басаева" (in Russian). Kommersant. 26 May 2005. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
13. Sergey Egorov (18 May 2005). "Террорист попался в сеть" (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. Archived from the original on 20 May 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
14. Alexander Andryukhin (19 May 2005). "Воронежский террорист планировал ещё 15 терактов" (in Russian). Izvestia. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
15. Anastasia Berseneva (24 October 2006). ""Я уверен, что террористов накажут"" (in Russian). Novye Izvestia. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
16. Ivan Smirnov (2 February 2007). "Пять жизней особого режима" (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
17. "Верховный суд не смягчил приговор террористам, устроившим взрывы в метро" (in Russian). Izvestia. 30 August 2007. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.

External links

• Moscow metro bombing: new details emerge
• Many dead in Moscow metro blast (BBC)
• In Pictures: Moscow blast (BBC)