Areg Schepikhin sent to pre-trial prison for two months

In Moscow, a court arrested blogger Areg Schepikhin for two months in a case on calls for extremism and incitement of hatred. The court hearing was held without allowing journalists to enter the courtroom. Footage from the courtroom shows traces of beatings on the Areg Schepikhin’s face.

The press service for the Moscow courts has reported about the arrest of Areg Schepikhin for two months. “By the decision of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow, the motion of the preliminary investigation bodies to choose a pre-trial restriction measure in the form of detention for Areg Samvelovich Schepikhin has been granted,” the Courts’ United Press Service reports in its message posted on the Telegram channel.

The photos attached to the post show bruises on the Areg Schepikhin’s face in the eye areas.

The hearing of the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow was held without journalists and relatives of the entrepreneur allowed into the courtroom, the “Ostorozhno, Novosti” (Beware the News) Telegram channel reports.

The criminal case has been instituted under Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code (public calls for extremist activity via the Internet) and Paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity with the threat of violence). It should be noted that the maximum punishment under Article 280 is up to five years of imprisonment, and under Article 282 – up to six years of imprisonment.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 6, 2025 at 09:38 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.