No justification to such criminal aggression – Russian Patriarch

The Russian Patriarch Kirill called the terrorist act in Domodedovo a monstrous crime. He called for the public to unite in the struggle against terrorism, and said he is praying for the souls of the victims, and the well-being of the injured.

“Such criminal aggression has no justification, and cannot have it,” he said in his address to the nation. “A human life is a gift of God, and any encroachment upon it is not only a crime against a man, but against the Creator. The people who committed this atrocity put themselves beyond the law, both human and divine.” The Islamic High Council of Russian Federation has condemned the terror act at Domodedovo Airport and once again proposed an increase in the severity of punishment for acts of terrorism in the country.The head of the executive committee of the Russian Association of Islamic Concord, Muhammedgali Huzin, particularly stressed that those killing innocent people are aiming at seeding hatred in the tolerant, multinational Russian society.He compared terrorists to scavengers to be eliminated altogether and, in the name of the Muslim community of Russia, announced that “We share the grief of the loss and future worries and we pray to the Lord for sending down patience and hope.”The first president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the injured in the explosion.“I react with deep hurt to the death of innocent people,” he said. “It is very important to investigate such cases completely. We have to understand who sets such goals, why this happens. I think our press and our public must demand from the government and the law enforcement bodies a thorough investigation of what has happened.”Russia’s National Antiterrorism Commission is appealing to the public to unite and give a consolidated rebuff to terrorism.“The terrorist act that happened today and resulted in the deaths of innocent people is further evidence of the inhuman nature of the terrorists, no matter what slogans and ideas they use, proving the necessity to unite all state institutions, public institutions, all citizens regardless of nationality and social standing, to adequately fight back against terrorism,” the commission stated.The head of the State Duma Transportation Committee, Sergey Shishkarev, believes that a 100 percent security inspection upon entering the airports should be introduced.“Maybe this happened because, unfortunately, we have selective security inspection of the passengers [at the airport entrance]. If we have terror alerts everywhere, no matter the time of day or year, we are forced to control and guarantee safety in the places of mass gatherings of people,” he said.Shishkarev also pointed out that the transportation security law should be revised.“Unfortunately it only has 16 paragraphs, and what is most important – the financial sources of the transportation security operations – are not specified in it,” he noted. “There is not even a reference that it should be done through the federal budget.”The head of the Russian Association for Islamic Consensus called for stricter punishment for terrorists."We don't get tired of repeating our demands for tighter punishment for those who encroach on the life of innocent people, making one more attempt to sow enmity in our multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Russian society," Mufti Mukhammedgali Khuzin told the Interfax-religion.ru website.The vice speaker of the Russian Lower House of Parliament and a member of its State Security Committee, Lubov Sliska, believes that security operators in the country are not working hard enough. “Of course it’s a tragic event and once again it proves that people who should guarantee our safety are not doing their best,” she said. “We are increasing the funding more and more, but what do we get in the end? Grief, tears…”The head of Russia’s Republic of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Evkurov, expressed his condolences to friends and families of the victims of the Domodedovo attack. “This cruel and inhuman act deserves absolute condemnation, and it has once again shown the barbaric face of terrorists,” he wrote in his blog, under the headline “Pain.” “We share your pain, which has become mutual.”