Soltayev threatened Chechen bloggers with an extremist article

Purchasing paid verification and additional features on Instagram* is considered in Russia to be financing extremist activity and may result in criminal prosecution, the Chechen ombudsman stated.

Chechnya's Human Rights Commissioner, Mansur Soltayev, warned bloggers about the threat of criminal prosecution for those who purchase a "blue checkmark" or other special features on Instagram*.

He recalled that Meta*, the company that owns Facebook*, Instagram*, and WhatsApp*, is recognized as extremist in Russia and is banned.

“Instagram* has a paid verification process, that blue checkmark. Some people get it for free, as public figures, while others buy it. According to experts, criminal cases have already been opened in Russia for purchasing such checkmarks. It's easy to prove: the subscription is made from a phone, the funds are debited from a Russian bank, and the money ultimately goes to a company designated as extremist,” Soltayev wrote on his Telegram channel on June 9.

According to the ombudsman, purchasing a subscription to a "banned social network" for additional features could lead to criminal prosecution under the article on financing extremist activity (Article 282.3 of the Russian Criminal Code), which carries a fine of 300,000 to 700,000 rubles, correctional labor, or imprisonment for up to eight years.

"The article does not apply to isolated small transfers, but to systematic or large transfers. However, a regular paid subscription can be considered systematic financing," he added.

Instagram*, despite Meta* being designated an extremist organization, remains a favorite social network for Ramzan Kadyrov's cronies. Among those who regularly maintain accounts on this social network are Aishat Kadyrova, the daughter of the head of Chechnya, and his third son, Adam Kadyrov. In the fall of 2020, the Instagram* accounts of Kadyrov's family members and those close to him were actively promoted by well-known media personalities on a paid basis.

Ramzan Kadyrov's personal accounts on Facebook* and Instagram* were blocked back in December 2017, shortly after the US Treasury Department added him to the Magnitsky sanctions list, holding him responsible for human rights violations in Chechnya. Then Kadyrov and republican officials announced a transition to the Chechen social network Mylistory, whose functionality was copied from Instagram*; employees of public sector organizations in Chechnya were instructed to create accounts on this app.

Kadyrov claimed that the Chechen social network was "in no way inferior to foreign ones," but in September 2020, it ceased functioning, with no warning to users about the app's discontinuation.