Police Charge Russian Rapper With Extremism

Investigators in Moscow have filed extremism charges against David Nuriev, better known as the rapper “Ptakha” (Birdy). The musician is accused of insulting members of the “Anti-Dealer” movement, an anti-narcotics group, during a concert at the Moscow club “16 Tons.”

Nuriev’s spokesperson told the news website Mediazona that he only learned of the criminal charges from reports in the media, saying the Investigative Committee has not yet contacted him regarding the case.

The tabloid website Life first reported the news, claiming that Nuriev insulted Anti-Dealer during a performance, though Life did not offer any further details about the case. The Investigative Committee has confirmed the charges, though it remains unclear what exactly the rapper said that qualifies as extremism.

Officials have not said when the incident took place, but Nuriev’s most recent performance at “16 Tons” was last year, in 2015.

David Nuriev is a former member of the group “Centr,” which included Alexei Dolmatov, the rapper known as “Guf.” In September 2015, Dolmatov was arrested and jailed for five days for illegal drug use, following a complaint to police filed by the Anti-Dealer movement.

The Anti-Dealer movement is headed by State Duma Dmitry Nosov, who was ejected from the political party LDPR in April 2016 for “losing touch with the party,” “becoming obsessed with PR,” and creating a “private guard” under the guise of the Anti-Dealer movement.