{"id":334461,"date":"2025-12-09T11:42:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/334461\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T11:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:42:09","slug":"daghestani-mma-fighter-arrested-in-moscow-for-desecrating-a-monument","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/334461\/","title":{"rendered":"Daghestani \u200b\u200bMMA fighter arrested in Moscow for \u2018desecrating a monument\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Don\u2019t just read the news, help create it.<\/p>\n<p>For just $5 a month, you can fund reporting that gives you in-depth insight into the Caucasus.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"Button_button__FKwxt Button_yellowType__2CmKQ Button_bigSize__vTdif DontJustReadBanner_articleBannerLink__yhhhJ\" style=\"width:auto\" id=\"article-banner-link\" href=\"https:\/\/oc-media.org\/membership\/?utm_source=Banner&amp;utm_medium=in+article&amp;utm_campaign=NKC2025&amp;utm_id=NKC2025\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">JOIN TODAY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Zaur Ismailov, a native of Daghestan\u2019s capital Makhachkala and an amateur MMA fighter, has been remanded to pre-trial detention for two months in connection with a case of desecrating a monument to veterans of the Emergency Situations Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>The decision was made by the Dorogomilovo District Court in Moscow earlier in December. The case was initiated following the publication of a video in which Ismailov used the monument for sporting exercises.<\/p>\n<p>In the video posted on Ismailov\u2019s Instagram account, he <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/moscowcourts\/7957?ref=oc-media.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">performs<\/a> punches and kicks while using an elastic band attached to the monument, which is located near the Slavyansky Bulvar metro station. In the video, he is seen boxing with the bronze figure of a boy and stretching the elastic band over the figure\u2019s hand, which is giving a military salute.<\/p>\n<p>A complaint was filed against Ismailov, after which the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case. The head of the Investigative Committee, Aleksandr Bastrykin, has <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/sledcom_press\/25935?ref=oc-media.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">taken<\/a> personal control of the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/ENews112\/23730?ref=oc-media.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">reported<\/a> by the Telegram channel 112, which is linked to the security services, Ismailov told journalists that he had no intention of offending anyone, describing himself as a \u2018friend of the monument\u2019 He said he had looped the band over the sculpture\u2019s hand for practicality, adding that \u2018it was convenient to attach the band this way\u2019 and that the situation is currently \u2018not enjoyable at all\u2019 for him.<\/p>\n<p>According to Russian independent media outlet OVD\u2011Info, Ismailov\u2019s lawyer, whose name was not reported, <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/ovdinfo\/27074?ref=oc-media.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">requested<\/a> in court that a non\u2011custodial measure of restraint be applied. The defence cited Ismailov\u2019s health condition, noting that he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The lawyer also highlighted that Ismailov had transferred \u20bd50,000 ($650) to a charitable fund supporting mobilised personnel, and that his brother had participated in counter\u2011terrorist operations.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation and the court cited the relevant article of the Russian criminal code, which provides for liability for destroying, damaging, or desecrating monuments, memorials, and military graves. The offence carries a fine of between \u20bd2 million ($26,000) and \u20bd5 million ($64,000), compulsory work of up to 480 hours, corrective labour, or imprisonment of up to five years.<\/p>\n<p>The Dorogomilovo District Court ordered Ismailov to remain in custody until 5 February 2026. Case materials <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/moscowcourts\/7957?ref=oc-media.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">indicate<\/a> that he initially denied the charges at the time of his arrest. Subsequently, Ismailov admitted to the actions shown in the video and stated that he had not intended to offend the memory of the veterans.<\/p>\n<p>The video that prompted the opening of the case was removed from social media following the authorities\u2019 reaction.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"kg-bookmark-container\" href=\"https:\/\/oc-media.org\/russian-ufc-champions-yan-and-chimaev-clash-over-nationality-question\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>Russian UFC champions Yan and Chimaev clash over nationality question<\/p>\n<p>Petr Yan said he wouldn\u2019t recognise Chechen fighter Khamzat Chimaev as a \u2018Russian UFC champion\u2019 because he fights under the UAE flag.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/yan-chimaev.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t just read the news, help create it. For just $5 a month, you can fund reporting that&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-334461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}