A criminal case has been initiated against blogger Areg Shchepikhin following his abduction at the Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, along with charges against six other individuals connected to the incident.

The Investigative Committee announced that Shchepikhin faces charges related to inciting extremism and inciting hatred, stemming from an analysis of his video content. The investigation identified what authorities deemed to be “signs of incitement to violent actions against a group of people distinguished by national/ethnic characteristics, as well as their humiliation” in his statements.

In parallel, a separate criminal case has been launched concerning the abduction itself, focusing on charges of kidnapping and abuse of power against the six individuals detained. Investigators are seeking to determine appropriate measures of restraint for these individuals.

The events unfolded after Shchepikhin released a video containing contentious remarks directed at a specific Caucasian nationality. Eyewitness accounts detail how, on the evening of June 3, several men seized him at the Yaroslavsky railway station, forcing him into the trunk of a black Mercedes GLS 500 equipped with flashing lights and special license plates.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that Shchepikhin had been posting “videos on social networks with provocative statements against residents of the Chechen Republic.”

Following the incident, Akhmed Dudaev, the Minister of National Policy of the Chechen Republic, asserted that Shchepikhin was not kidnapped but detained. Dudaev labeled Shchepikhin a criminal, accusing him of advocating for ethnic cleansing and Nazism, insulting religion, and expressing extremist viewpoints.