Nikolai Sobolev discusses the growing trend of prosecuting people in Russia for "hate speech" or "extremism" for sharing memes, pictures, or jokes online. He shares several examples of people being detained, fined, or imprisoned for insignificant online activities.
One example is a student who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for removing a political poster from a hotel wall in North Korea. Another example is a schoolgirl who faces up to five years in prison for sharing memes on a closed social media album.
Sobolev argues that the laws being used to prosecute people are overly broad and can be used to target anyone. He believes that people are being unfairly punished for exercising their freedom of speech online.
The video also highlights the case of a 14-year-old boy who was detained for having a picture of a Game of Thrones character in the image of Jesus Christ on his social media page. Sobolev also mentions a woman who was given 320 hours of correctional labor for posting an image with extremist content, despite having only 44 subscribers on her social media page.
Sobolev calls for public outcry and demands answers to questions about why people are being imprisoned under these laws. He encourages his viewers to share the video and be careful about what they post online to avoid being targeted.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. A student was detained at an airport in North Korea for removing a political poster from a hotel wall.
2. The student was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for the offense.
3. The student returned home in a coma two years later and soon passed away.
4. In Russia, people are being held accountable for pictures and posts on the internet.
5. Two articles, 282 and 148, are being used to prosecute people for inciting hatred and offending someone's feelings.
6. A nurse, Oksana, was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for memes in a closed VKontakte album.
7. A person, Maria Mat, is facing up to five years in prison for saving pictures on her VKontakte page.
8. Maria was reported by two girls who were offended by her posts.
9. Maria was arrested and taken to a police station, where she was forced to confess.
10. Maria's bank accounts were blocked, and she was added to a register of extremists and terrorists.
11. A boy, Danil Markin, is being tried for saving a photo of Game of Thrones characters in the image of Jesus Christ on his page.
12. Danil was banned from leaving the country, and his bank accounts were blocked.
13. A single mother, Ekaterina Vologzhanina, received 320 hours of correctional labor for extremism for posting an image on her page.
14. Ekaterina's computer and computer mouse were destroyed as part of her punishment.
15. A 14-year-old boy, Dmitry Morozov, was detained for having a smiley face in a Nazi uniform in a comment on his page.
16. Dmitry was convicted and will have a criminal record, which may affect his future prospects.
17. The VKontakte administration has intervened and asked for an amnesty for those detained under these articles.
18. Rapper Oksimiron has spoken out against the harsh punishments for those convicted under these articles.