The Basmanny District Court of Moscow arrested Russian bodybuilder blogger Alexander Shpak in absentia in the case of discrediting the army, the press service of the Moscow City Court told RBC. According to law enforcement agencies, Shpak disseminated false information about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine, and also incited hatred on political grounds.
Previously, Shpak was arrested for two months. The arrest will begin from the moment the blogger is extradited to Russia and subsequent detention after crossing the border.
Let us remind you that on January 13, Shpak was put on the wanted list in connection with charges under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (clause “d”, part 2) – publication and dissemination of false information about the actions and decisions of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. This paragraph, among other things, touches on “political” and other aspects of inciting hatred and enmity between citizens. The blogger faces five to ten years in prison. Administrative cases have already been brought against Shpak to discredit the army, as well as compare the leadership of the USSR and Nazi Germany.
In the fall of 2023, the blogger was fined 250 thousand rubles for publishing fakes about the Russian military. The court considered the texts of “anti-war content” published on Shpak’s Telegram channel to be a reason to initiate another case. The bodybuilder himself refuses to plead guilty to his actions.
Shpak moved from Russia to Turkey in 2020, and is now in Montenegro. The blogger regularly criticizes the SVO in Ukraine and speaks negatively about the Russian authorities. At the same time, the bodybuilder does not plan to return to Russia. Shpak’s YouTube channel has about 290 thousand subscribers.
Source: Rosbalt
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