A comment on the Tumso* channel led to the arrest of a disabled man from Izhevsk.

A follower of Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov* has appeared in court in Yekaterinburg. The man is accused of inciting terrorism due to a comment on Tumso*'s channel.

Alexander Krichevsky, 58, from Izhevsk, is being tried by a military court in Yekaterinburg. The man, who had a first-degree disability before his arrest, was charged with inciting terrorism via the internet (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code carries a prison sentence of five to seven years).

The case was initiated following a comment Krichevsky left on the Chechen opposition leader's Telegram channel on September 11, 2024. A subscriber took Tumso* to task for "not being afraid," calling him a "ray of freedom in the kingdom of darkness," and calling "Putin" and the FSB clique "the enemy," Mediazona* writes today.

Alexander Krichevsky denies his guilt, insisting that his comment did not call for the physical destruction of anyone, including the Russian president or FSB officers. According to the accused, he called for "destroying the darkness" and used figurative language about the enemy. Krichevsky also insists that he "categorically does not support" the ideology and practice of terrorism, and the article he is charged with implies their support.

Krichevsky was a first-degree disabled person before his arrest, but was unable to renew his disability status when he ended up in pretrial detention. He is no longer formally disabled, but suffers from kidney problems and is confined to a wheelchair, the publication notes.

* are included in the register of foreign agents

** The activities of Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.