(MENAFN) On Monday, a Russian military court issued a symbolic ruling, sentencing Meta spokesman Andy Stone to six years in prison in absentia for "justifying terrorism." This move is part of Russia's broader efforts to restrict Western social media platforms within the country, particularly amid tensions with the West.
The sentencing of Stone, a US citizen, comes several months after Moscow had already blocked Meta platforms Instagram and Facebook and placed him on a wanted list. Judge Roman Kiforenko stated that the sentence would take effect if Stone were to set foot on Russian soil or be extradited to Russia.
The case against Stone stemmed from a post he made in March 2022, during the early stages of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. In the post, Stone stated that Facebook would not take action against users advocating violence against Russian forces.
Stone stated that Meta had “temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.”
“We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” the post mentioned.
At the time, Nick Clegg, the President of Meta Global Affairs, clarified that the policy regarding content moderation would solely apply "in Ukraine itself."
Clegg declared that the verdict was made in “extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances” and was intended to safeguard “people’s rights to speech as an expression of self-defense.”
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