Russian YouTuber Charged With 'Justifying Terror’ Over Theater Siege Song
Updated:
Yury Khovasnky faces up to 7 years in prison on the charges.
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A popular Russian YouTuber has been charged with justifying terrorism over an alleged performance mocking the deadly 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis, investigators announced Wednesday.
Yury Khovasnky, 31, who boasts 4.4 million YouTube subscribers, was apprehended at his St. Petersburg apartment Tuesday evening.
“Is it because of that song?” Khovansky Khovansky can be heard asking in the footage of his detention broadcast by the state-run REN TV channel.
The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in its statement that Khovansky intended to “form the ideology of terrorism” and “belief in its attractiveness” with the song.