Russian comedian jailed nearly 6 years for offensive joke about war veteran

MOSCOW —A Russian stand-up comedian was convicted of inciting hatred and jailed for nearly six years on Wednesday over a joke he made about a legless war veteran, which triggered outrage among nationalists and military bloggers.

A Reuters reporter in court said that the comedian, Artemy Ostanin, had been handed a sentence of five years and nine months and a fine of 300,000 roubles ($3,908).

It was the latest in a series of rulings which have harshly punished people judged by the authorities to have spoken rudely or falsely about the Russian army at a time when it is fighting in Ukraine.

Ostanin was also convicted of offending the feelings of Christians with another off-colour joke he made about Jesus, which angered Orthodox nationalists.

Ostanin, who had apologised to anyone whose feelings he had hurt, denied wrongdoing and said that the joke he made about the war veteran had made no mention of the conflict in Ukraine.

His arrest and treatment were punishment enough for any offence he had caused, Ostanin said during his trial.

Russia passed sweeping censorship laws in 2022 shortly after it went to war in Ukraine. Pro-Kremlin figures and organizations have since publicly denounced people they deem to have broken those laws, and have reported them to the authorities.—Reuters