The Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow sent blogger Areg Shchepikhina under arrest for two months, the press service of the Moscow courts reported. He is accused under two articles: of "public calls for extremist activities" and "inciting hatred or enmity."
At the same time, nothing is known about the Kadyrovites who kidnapped him, who were also detained.
The blogger, who posted videos "insulting Chechens, Dagestanis, and the Quran," was kidnapped from Yaroslavsky railway station on the evening of June 3. The next day, the Minister for National Policy of Chechnya, Akhmed Dudaev, reported that Shchepikhina was detained by law enforcement officers of the republic, who are cooperating with relevant departments in Moscow.
According to Dudaev, Shchepikhina is being investigated under the article on public actions committed with the aim of insulting the religious feelings of believers, and he may also be charged with "rehabilitation of Nazism," "public calls for extremist activities," "inciting hatred or enmity," and other charges.
As Dudaev stated, the detainee "openly, publicly, and repeatedly called for ethnic cleansing and Nazism, insulted religion and God, and also expressed clearly extremist views and declared an intention to rape underage children."
Areg Shchepikhina, a 39-year-old native of Armenia, has lived in Russia for many years and holds a Russian passport.
Almost a day after the abduction, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case due to the kidnapping of Areg Shchepikhina. The specific article under which the case was initiated was not indicated in the press release of the security forces, but it mentions that those involved in the kidnapping were brought to the Moscow division of the Investigative Committee. "In the near future, they will be detained in accordance with Art. 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code," the statement said.
An investigation was also started against the blogger himself. Ultimately, he ended up in a pre-trial detention center, where the kidnappers are currently located, and in what status is not reported.