A Dagestani blogger was sentenced in absentia for "fakes" about the Russian army
A military court in Rostov-on-Don found Dagestani blogger Arslan Mirzayev (Ali Charinsky) guilty of disseminating false information about the Russian army and calling for terrorism. He was sentenced in absentia to eight years in a general regime penal colony and a fine of 1 million rubles.
The charges were based on Mirzayev's social media posts made from Odesa, Ukraine, between March 20 and April 7, 2022. According to investigators, the blogger knowingly disseminated false information in the form of staged photos and text materials about Russian military actions in Bucha and Mariupol. The charges of justifying terrorism stem from later posts (March 2023 and June 2024) on a messaging app containing "statements recognizing the ideology and practice of terrorism as correct," without the court's press service specifying the content.
Mirzaev previously headed the human rights organization "For Muslim Rights" in Russia. He later left for Ukraine.