Chechnya Resident Sentenced to Six Years in Penal Colony for Inciting Violence Against Head of State

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced Magomed Bortiev, a resident of Chechnya, to six years in a general-regime penal colony. The court found him guilty of publicly calling for extremist activity and promoting terrorism.

According to the court's press service, the criminal case stems from comments Bortiev posted online on February 23 and March 14, 2024. Investigators and the court determined that his posts called for violent acts against the head of state, as well as violence against individuals based on their ethnicity.

The court convicted Bortiev under two articles of the Russian Criminal Code: public calls for extremist activity and the public justification or promotion of terrorism. He will serve his sentence in a general-regime penal colony.

Bortiev was born in 2003 in the village of Mairtup, in Chechnya’s Kurchaloyevsky District. In February 2026, his details—flagged for alleged involvement in terrorism—appeared on the Rosfinmonitoring list of individuals linked to terrorism and extremism.

The verdict has not yet entered into legal force. The parties may appeal the decision to the Appellate Military Court.

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