Affiliated media: YouTube channel Cherces, YouTube channel

Incident date: May 15, 2023

Attack type:

• Shutting down a media outlet / blocking an Internet site/ seizure of an entire print run

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Caucasus.Realities

Location: Russia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Nalchik

Additional information:

The Nalchik City Court has added to the register of banned materials and blocked the YouTube channel Cherces, owned by Ibragim Yaganov, head of the movement Khase. The prosecutor’s office stated in its lawsuit that the channel was distributing «information materials of extremist nature». The agency considered that Yaganov’s videos allegedly contained «information about discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation». The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kabardino-Balkaria carried out linguistic expert analyses at the initiative of the Centre for Combating Extremism of the Department of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kabardino-Balkaria, which found that the videos contained calls to extremism, justification of terrorism, and «discrediting» of the army. The description of the channel Cherces says that it is associated with the Inal Foundation and its goal is the revival of Circassian statehood.