Tajik MMA fighter Chorshanbe Chorshanbiev under the nickname of Urj, who was extradited from Russia on December  30 and on the same day he was detained at Dushanbe airport by security officers.

Tajik national news agency Khovar, citing the prosecutor’s office of Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district, says criminal proceedings have been instituted against Chorshanbiev under the provisions of two articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code: Article 189 – incitement of social, racial, ethnic, regional or religious enmity; and Article 307 -- public calls for the forcible overthrow of or change to the constitutional order in Tajikistan.  The preliminary investigation is reportedly under way.  

Khovar, in particular notes that “Chorshanbiev as blogger has regularly used provocative speeches on social media, especially on his personal page “chorshanbiev_pm” inciting regional enmity and riots.”

Khovar says that according to the source, Chorshanbiev was detained on suspicion of committing the abovementioned crimes.

His relatives are officially notified and he has been provided with a lawyer, Khovar notes.    

Citing the press center of the Moscow city court, RIA Novosti reported that the Moscow city court on December 29 upheld the decision on deportation of Chorshanbiev.  

The Moscow Police Directorate said on December 5 that Chorshanbe Chorshanbiev was detained in Moscow for driving without a license.  “It was found that the man violated the regime of stay (residence) on the territory of the Russian Federation. Administrative material was drawn up on it under article 18.8 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (violation by a foreign citizen or stateless person of the rules of entering the Russian Federation or the regime of stay in the Russian Federation), which was sent for consideration to the court. The man faces an administrative fine of up to seven thousand rubles with administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation,” reads a statement released by the Moscow Police Directorate. 

The detention of Chorshanbiev became known on December 3.  Traffic police officers found videos on the Internet where the driver of a Toyota Camry, driving in the Lefortovo tunnel, repeatedly violated traffic rules. The identity and whereabouts of the offender were established, and he was detained at the 92nd km of the outer side of the Moscow Ring Road.  He was brought to administrative responsibility for the lack of an OSAGO policy, as well as for driving without a license, since he presented a national driver’s license, which has no legal force in the Russian Federation.