The well-known religious blogger and public figure Muhammad Marziev has been detained in Ingushetia for allegedly illegally possessing a grenade, reported the local independent media outlet Fortanga, citing a source familiar with the investigation.
Fortanga’s source claimed the blogger was detained on the morning of 6 February by officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
After his detention, a criminal case was opened against Marziev under an article of the Russian criminal code — ‘Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage of firearms and ammunition’ — charges which can lead to up to five years in prison if convicted.
Fortanga’s source reported that the Malgobek City Court chose a preventive measure for the blogger in the form of two months in pre-trial detention — the period of the preliminary investigation.
‘Muhammad gave confessional testimony in this case, but this could have been done under pressure’, the source told the publication on condition of anonymity. He did not provide any other details about the course of the investigative actions.
Official security agencies of Ingushetia and federal law enforcement bodies have not publicly reported Marziev’s detention.
Marziev is known in the republic as a popular Islamic blogger and public activist. More than one million people are subscribed to his Instagram page. In his publications, he regularly addressed religious and social topics, and took part in charitable initiatives and public projects.
According to Fortanga, Marziev organised fundraising for the construction of a mosque in the town of Karabulak, as well as for the building of a hafiz school in the Malgobek district of Ingushetia. He repeatedly acted as an initiator of public actions related to religious and educational activities.
After the blogger’s detention, posts uncharacteristic of his usual content appeared in the ‘stories’ section of his Instagram page. Among them were images featuring the emblem of the FSB, a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the phrase ‘Work, brothers’, as well as posts of a caricature nature.
Marziev’s arrest is only the latest time that religious figures in Ingushetia have been detained.
In the spring of 2025, imams Muhammad Tamaskhanov and Magomed Sultygov were arrested in the republic. At that time, local religious leaders and public activists stated that ‘illegal methods of interrogation’ had been used against the detainees.
Elizaveta Chukharova
Sources of Fortanga have linked those prosecutions to pressure on representatives of the Salafi religious movement in the region. According to the publication, investigators suspected the imams of involvement in various offences, but many local residents spoke out in their support.
Subsequently, the court found Sultygov guilty under the article ‘failure to report a crime’ and imposed a fine of ₽50,000 ($650). It was reported that Sultygov refused to participate in fundraising for the ‘Gurazhev group’, known as a terrorist organisation, with which the investigation initially linked his case.
