Russian Comedian Sentenced to Nearly Six Years Over Joke About Veteran

A Russian comedian, Artemy Ostanin, was sentenced in Moscow to nearly six years in prison after being convicted of "inciting hatred" for a joke he made during a stand-up routine in March. The routine described a man who had lost his legs after stepping on a mine and who was pushing himself through a Moscow metro on a skateboard; Ostanin said the man ran over his foot and startled him.

A clip of the performance was widely shared by military bloggers and nationalist groups and was posted by blogger Alexy Zhivov, who characterized it as joking about disabled veterans. Ostanin denied the joke mentioned soldiers or the war. Ostanin fled Russia and was arrested days later in Belarus.

Eva Merkacheva of Russia’s Human Rights Council, citing his lawyer, said he had been beaten by Belarusian police and had a broken vertebra; Belarusian police deny that account. He was also convicted of insulting religious believers for a different routine about a week earlier.

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