Four Men Charged for Moscow Concert Hall Attack
Vocabulary
Repeat each word, definition, and example sentence after your tutor.
assault
Noun
əˈsɔːlt
a violent physical attack; the crime of attacking, or threatening to attack, someone physically
The actor's assault on the director made headlines around the world.
custody
Noun
ˈkʌs.tə.di
the state of being held in prison, especially before going to court
Gangster Al Capone was taken into custody by the police for carrying a deadly weapon in May 1929.
hearing
Noun
ˈhiːrɪŋ
a meeting of a court, committee, etc. in which evidence is given and heard
The 2022 Depp v. Heard defamation trial captured worldwide attention during its televised hearings.
mourning
Noun
ˈmɔːrnɪŋ
the act of expressing sadness for someone's death
The British government declared a period of national mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
intelligence
Noun
ɪnˈtɛləʤəns
the collecting of military or political information; the people whose job is to collect military or political information
The Central Intelligence Agency, better known as CIA, is the foreign intelligence service of the United States.
intervention
Noun
ˌɪntərˈvenʃn
the act of becoming involved in a situation, problem, etc. in order to influence it
Many politicians have called for military intervention in the region following the recent violence.
Exercise 2
Article
Read the article aloud on your own or repeat each paragraph after your tutor.
Four Men Charged for Moscow Concert Hall Attack
On March 24, four men accused of staging the Russia concert hall attack that killed more than 130 people appeared before a Moscow court on terrorism charges. The men showed signs of severe beatings and one appeared to be barely conscious.
Court statements said two of the suspects accepted their guilt in the assault, though the men's condition raised questions about whether they were speaking freely.
The investigators charged the four men with committing a terrorist attack resulting in the death of others. The offense carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Moscow's Basmanny District Court ordered that the men, all of whom were identified in the media as citizens of Tajikistan, be held in custody until May 22 for investigation and trial.
The hearings came as Russia observed a national day of mourning for the attack which took place on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed at least 137 people.
The attack, which has been claimed by the Islamic State group (IS), was the deadliest on Russian soil in years. Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to tie the attack to Ukraine and claimed the attackers were captured while fleeing there. Kyiv has firmly denied involvement.
Rescuers continued to search the damaged building over the weekend and the death toll rose as more bodies were found. Moscow's Department of Health said it had begun identifying the bodies of those killed via DNA testing, saying the process would take at least two weeks.
US intelligence officials said they had confirmed the Islamic State's claim and said that the US had shared information with Russia in early March about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow.
Some people on Russian social media questioned how authorities failed to prevent the attack despite the US warning.
IS, which fought against Russia during its intervention in the Syrian civil war, has long targeted Russia.
In a statement posted by the Islamic State's Aamaq news agency, the group said that it had attacked a large gathering of "Christians" in Moscow as part of its war with countries it says are fighting against Islam.
Discussion
Have a discussion based on the following questions.
1.
What are your thoughts on the terrorist attack in Moscow?
2.
Do you find it surprising that Putin has tried to tie the attack to Ukraine?
3.
Is the threat of terror attacks a major concern where you live?
4.
What do you think motivates people to join terrorist groups?
5.
Do you expect the number of terror attacks globally to increase or decrease over your lifetime?