"His case centres on a 2025 comedy routine in which he joked about a veteran who lost his legs in a wartime explosion and had to ride a skateboard, calling him a legless skater. Footage of the performance went viral, provoking outrage among Russian nationalists who claimed Ostanin had disrespected soldiers fighting in Ukraine. Ostanin, who was arrested last March while trying to flee to Belarus, denied that his joke referred to Russians in combat in Ukraine."
"The final sentence for Ostanin is imprisonment for five years and nine months in a general regime penal colony, judge Olesya Mendeleyeva was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. In his final statement to the court, Ostanin denounced the proceedings as unjust, saying, I hope no one ever finds themselves in the same situation of brutal legal abuse that I did."
"In addition to his prison term, Ostanin was fined 300,000 rubles ($3,900) and placed on a government list of designated terrorists and extremists a measure often used against political opponents. Russian rights group Memorial slammed Ostanin's prosecution. This case shows how vague extremism and blasphemy laws are used to silence speech, intimidate artists, and punish humour, the group said in a statement on X."
Stand-up comedian Artemy Ostanin was convicted of inciting hatred and sentenced to five years and nine months in a general regime penal colony. The conviction stemmed from a 2025 routine that joked about a veteran who lost his legs and a separate joke about Jesus that offended Orthodox nationalists. Footage went viral and provoked outrage among Russian nationalists who said the joke disrespected soldiers fighting in Ukraine. Ostanin was arrested last March while trying to flee to Belarus and denied the joke referred to Russians in combat. He was fined 300,000 rubles and placed on a government list of designated terrorists and extremists. Rights group Memorial said vague extremism and blasphemy laws were being used to silence speech and punish humour.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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