Blogger Arsen Markaryan sent to pretrial detention

The Tagansky District Court has arrested blogger Arsen Markaryan, the Moscow prosecutor's office reported. The court considered the investigation's motion behind closed doors.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, on August 23, security forces detained blogger of Armenian origin Arsen Markaryan in the Moscow Region in connection with the rehabilitation of Nazism. According to investigators, no later than February 25, 2025, Markaryan posted a video on a video hosting site that contained information about insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland.

Arsen Markaryan is accused of insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland. According to investigators, the person arrested no later than February 25 of this year published a video in which he defamed the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland. The defendant was detained on August 23. At the same time, he was charged. Markaryan did not admit guilt. The court considered the investigation's motion behind closed doors, Kommersant reports, citing the Moscow prosecutor's office.

Markaryan was charged under Part 4 of Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (insulting the memory of defenders of the Fatherland, committed using the media or information and telecommunications networks, including the Internet)1, The Moscow prosecutor's office reports in its Telegram channel.

"At the request of investigators of the Moscow Investigative Committee, a preventive measure in the form of detention was chosen for Arsen Markaryan. Investigative actions aimed at collecting and securing the evidence base are ongoing. As part of the investigation of the criminal case, he will be checked for involvement in other crimes against public safety and state power committed on the Internet," the Investigative Committee reported.

Blogger Arsen Markaryan, arrested on charges of insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland, was previously put on the international wanted list, according to the Telegram channel of the courts of general jurisdiction of the city of Moscow. "Earlier, the defendant was put on the international wanted list by the investigation," the statement said.

It was also specified that by court order, Markaryan was arrested for 17 days, RIA Novosti reports.

"I do not recognize the person in this video, I am not familiar with the channel, I did not create it or administer it, I did not record this video and did not send it to anyone. "I would like to point out that I completely disagree with what was said in this video," the blogger responded in court after watching the video that served as the basis for initiating the case.

Earlier, "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote that, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Markaryan was hiding in the trunk of a car stopped near Kubinka in the Moscow region. The operatives identified the car in which Markaryan was traveling. On the Mozhaisk Highway near Kubinka, the car in which Markaryan was hiding in the trunk was stopped by traffic police inspectors of the Moscow region. The prosecutor's office also checked Markaryan's five-hour interview, in which he discussed donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the possibility of using drones with the Ukrainian flag.