Areg Shchepikhin explained hostile statements about Jews and Caucasians as threats and harassment

Blogger Areg Shchepikhin, arrested for extremism after being abducted by Chechen security forces from a Moscow train station, told the court that he had been receiving threats from rivals for a long time and recorded a video with ethnic insults to urge them to "stay away." 

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," the state prosecutor  requested a six-year prison sentence for blogger Areg Shchepikhin, who was accused of extremism and insulting religious believers after being abducted by Chechen security forces at a Moscow train station. The court sentenced him to five years in prison. The defense stated that they will appeal the verdict. 

At the final hearing of the Presnensky District Court in Moscow's Areg Shchepikhin case today, as in previous cases, only journalists were present—just 10-12 representatives from various publications. Neither Shchepikhin's relatives nor friends attended the hearing. 

Among the evidence presented by the defense were extensive explanations from Shchepikhin himself. According to the blogger, "individuals of Caucasian ethnicity" had "expressed an unhealthy interest" in his life, addresses, and family, after which he received "some threats." "I went to the local police station in Khimki, wrote, and explained. But no action was taken on my requests," Areg Shchepikhin stated . 

According to Shchepikhin, the situation escalated over time: there were "psychological, emotional, and energetic attacks" and threats "even to the point of a religious war" from a large group of people, including, according to the blogger, athletes and security officials. The blogger emphasized that he recorded his videos so "they would stay away" from him, even though he usually doesn't use foul language and "doesn't know" obscene language. "This went on for a year. Those I told about it called me a 'sucker.' When they started waking me up at night with panic attacks, I decided to make a video," he explained.

After this, Shchepikhin read a prepared speech. It claimed that after he "started turning in young cocaine addicts," there had been four attempts on his life—two attempts to hit him with a car, one attempt each to poison him, and one attempt to strangle him. Expanding on this theory, Shchepikhin spoke of certain young people "on drugs," lists of whom he was prepared to provide to the court. "They voluntarily worship the devil for money, drugs, sex, and fame. They are all cowards, all slaves to pleasure on drugs. And when I ignored all this, they intimidated me. I'm now in prison because I'm not a drug addict," he emphasized, noting that these same people were conducting "energetic attacks" on his family, causing his mother to have a stroke and his sister to nearly miscarry.

Shchepikhin also said that, while serving as a bailiff, he signed a document consenting to the wiretapping of his phone. "But the fact that I hadn't violated anything infuriated them, and they provoked me," he emphasized.

The defendant also outlined another alleged motive for his prosecution: his ambition to become president of Russia and declare amnesty for everyone. "I don't want to end up like other presidential candidates. When I worked as a bailiff, I asked my superiors in the Moscow region to write to the president about an amnesty, and I succeeded. I amnestied 4,300 people for 4 billion rubles, and now I can't afford a lawyer. I was imprisoned as soon as I started earning well," Shchepikhin stated. 

He later stated that they wanted to imprison him because he wanted to "unite political parties to oppose United Russia." He also insisted that he had never previously criticized representatives of the Caucasian republics or Muslims in general.

While reading his lengthy speech, the blogger repeatedly asked the judge and prosecutor to forgive him and not imprison him, as he had to support his mother, who had suffered a stroke, his ex-wife, and his young son. "I'm lucky, but now something has gone wrong, so only you and the prosecutor can stop my bad luck. When I worked as a bailiff, the judges loved and appreciated me," he remarked, addressing the judge. 

When Shchepikhin finished his speech, his appointed defense attorney, Oksana Sotnikova, began asking him questions. She asked whether he had immediately deleted the videos that had prompted the criminal case, to which the blogger replied in the affirmative. 

"I realized this is completely over the top. I feel bad every day, and I repent every day. This is a very bad example; never do this. It's dangerous for life, for society, for the state, and for religion. This is all very wrong," he said. 

He also said he worked as a mentor for the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Corporation and as a correspondent for the Federal News Service. The lawyer also presented Judge Elena Abramova with Shchepikhin's allegations of violations during the investigation and a positive reference from his sister's husband. The judge only admitted the reference, dismissing the other materials as "improperly filed." 

State prosecutor Zotova asked Shchepikhin how many videos he had made and when they were made. "Two Instagram posts*. On June 3rd, I was woken up in the middle of the night with threats, and I made the first video in a hostel in Moscow City, where I was staying. I deleted it during the day. I made the second one during the day," the defendant said. According to the blogger, his opponents had only contacted him online, so he decided to respond with videos. 

Shchepikhin claims he never published the third video at all. He insists it was stored on his phone and retrieved by an investigator. "He threatened me with long prison terms, and I ended up signing it, but then I decided not to be afraid," the blogger stated.

Answering the judge's question about who threatened him on the night of June 3, Shchepikhin stated that it could have been "competitors from the Dagestani and Chechen info-business." "From sports organizations like Night Fight or Hardcore, which often use drugs before fights and try to calm, reassure, and educate people like me who disagree with them," he asserted. 

Shchepikhin added that three of his seven kidnappers were "on drugs." The blogger recounted that after his abduction, he was forced to his knees so the "Chechens" could film an apology. "They asked me about contacts with Ukraine, but I replied that the only Ukrainian I'd spoken to was [Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration] Sergei Kiriyenko," he remarked.

When asked why he assumed the threats were coming from people from the Caucasus, Shchepikhin noted that, thanks to his many years of experience, he recognizes them "by their handwriting," referring, he said, to their manner of constructing sentences and using certain words. The defendant explained his attack on Jews by saying that "one person" from among the Jews had threatened him, adding that he also regretted this statement. 

During the closing arguments, State Prosecutor Zotova noted that Areg Shchepikhin had fully admitted his guilt. She requested 200 hours of community service for the charge of insulting religious feelings, three years' imprisonment with a four-year ban on administering websites for the charge of inciting extremism, and 3.5 years' imprisonment with a similar ban for the charge of inciting hatred and enmity. In total, she reduced the sentence to six years' imprisonment with a four-year ban on publishing online.  

Sotnikova's lawyer, in turn, requested that Shchepikhin's charge of inciting hatred and enmity be reduced from Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code to Part 1, as he had only spoken verbally and had not used any violence. "My client deeply regrets this, expresses remorse, and asks for leniency. This is his first offense and he has a proven track record. Colleagues and relatives speak warmly of him, describing him as a kind and compassionate person. He is the caregiver of a young child and an elderly mother. I ask that he not be deprived of his liberty and that he be released from custody in the courtroom," the lawyer stated. 

In his final statement, Shchepikhin stated that he "didn't mean to say anything like that." "I hope this won't lead to any consequences. Please forgive me. I want to be punished differently, but not in prison," he said.

After a nearly two-hour recess, Judge Abramova announced the verdict: Shchepikhin was sentenced to five years in prison and a 2.5-year ban on website administration and online publishing. The time spent in custody will be counted toward Shchepikhin's sentence, using the formula "one and a half days in a penal colony for one day in a pretrial detention center." The blogger listened to the verdict calmly, showing no emotion.

Even before the verdict was announced, Oksana Sotnikova told the "Caucasian Knot" that she considered the prosecutor's demands too harsh. "I believe he should receive a suspended sentence—this is his first offense; he has no previous record of breaking the law," she noted, emphasizing that she would appeal if he receives a prison sentence.

After the verdict was announced, Sotnikova confirmed she would appeal the verdict. Sotnikova noted that the appeal would likely only result in a reduced sentence for Shchepikhin, rather than a suspended sentence, which she believes is appropriate.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/416295