In Saratov, 17-year-old student Daniil Matasov has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. According to investigators, he carried out an armed attack on a woman wearing a hijab on Stolypina Avenue on the evening of October 25.

Matasov reportedly stabbed a 35-year-old passerby in the back. According to Natalya Troshina, Senior Assistant to the Head of the Investigative Department, the young man was unable to fully carry out his criminal intent due to the victim's resistance. The woman was hospitalized with a stab wound and received the necessary medical attention.

Media reports indicate that the attack was motivated solely by the fact that the woman was wearing a hijab and was Muslim. Matasov himself bragged about the crime on social media, admitting that he committed it out of hatred for those who wear Muslim clothing.

A criminal case has been opened against the minor solely for attempted murder, which has puzzled human rights activists. It is noted that the authorities have not recognized the incident as a terrorist attack, although in similar cases involving people from the Caucasus or migrants, far harsher charges are brought.
⠀
"Despite Matasov's statements about the reasons for the attack, Russian law enforcement officials for some reason did not consider his actions to be an act of terrorism. After some time and a great deal of fuss raised by the students themselves, they detained the attacker and charged him only with attempted murder," emphasized Dagestani human rights blogger Maryam Aliyeva.

She noted that this is not the first attack on Muslim women wearing hijabs. In July 2024, a woman armed with a knife attacked one of them in the Moscow metro, but tragedy was averted.

"However, Muslim women wearing hijabs are often attacked and beaten by Nazis and racists, and are subject to attempts to remove their hijabs by force. Law enforcement agencies typically ignore these reports and take no decisive action," Aliyeva laments.