A military court in Moscow sentenced the press representative of the American social media giant Meta Andy Stone in absentia to six years in prison on the charge of “publicly advocating terrorism”, the RIA news agency reported.
Meta itself is labeled an extremist organization in Russia and social networking platforms Facebook and Instagram have been banned in the country since 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. Stone, Meta’s director of communications, could not immediately be reached either.
THE defense counsel Valentina Filipenkova, quoted by the Interfax news agency, reportedly said that will appeal. “I asked for his acquittal,” he reportedly said. Russia’s interior ministry opened a criminal investigation into Stone last year, without announcing specific charges.
The RIA news agency cited prosecutors as saying that Stone posted online comments advocating “aggressive, hostile and violent actions” against Russian soldiers participating in the “special military operation” as Moscow calls the war.
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