'Unwitting accomplice': Russian bomber

The man Russian investigators say orchestrated a suicide bombing on the St Petersburg metro has told a court he was an unwitting accomplice in the attack.

At a preliminary court hearing on Tuesday, the suspect, Abror Azimov, said he had participated in the preparation of the attack, in which 14 people were killed, but only indirectly.

"I did not realise that I was helping with this act," he said, referring to the April 3 blast on the metro. "I was being given instructions."

Earlier, a state investigator told the court that Azimov had confessed to having prepared the attack, but the suspect said he had not confessed to that.