A Moscow blogger was sentenced to five years in prison for insulting Chechens and Muslims

In Moscow, blogger Areg Shchepikhin was sentenced to five years in prison. The defense announced its intention to appeal the verdict.

In addition to his prison sentence, the defendant was banned from administering websites and publishing materials online for two and a half years after his release. The prosecutor's office had previously requested a four-year ban on Shchepikhin from administering online resources.

The criminal case was opened following the publication of videos insulting Chechens and Muslims. He has been charged with "calls to extremism" and "inciting hatred or enmity."

In the Presnensky Court, Shchepikhin stated that he was being persecuted not for his posts, but because of his desire to become president of Russia. The blogger also reported that he was tortured and forced to confess to ties to Ukraine: "I said that the only Ukrainian I communicate with is Sergei Kiriyenko, Putin's de facto deputy."

On June 3, near Moscow's Yaroslavsky Station, several men, in front of witnesses, dragged Areg Shchepikhin into the trunk of a Mercedes with flashing lights and Chechen license plates. Chechen authorities called it an arrest and added that Chechen security forces were "cooperating with relevant Moscow agencies." In July, the blogger was added to the list of "terrorists and extremists."

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