We wrote last October that Russian YouTube vlogger Ruslan Sokolovsky faced up to 5 years in prison for playing Pokemon Go in church. After recording and posting the hunt online to his 300,000 followers, he was visited by the law and has been accused of “offending religious sensibilities”. To be fair, the Russian government did issue a warning to its citizens first but they have now confirmed the prosecutors are asking the courts for a 3 and a half year sentence. According to some news outlets, the charge of “inciting hatred” has also been added to list of “crimes” and that is certainly the first time we have ever heard those words used in the same sentence as Pokemon. We know that civil liberties are not high on Putins agenda, but this is just absurd. Our thoughts are with Ruslan and his family, who now obviously regret not emigrating somewhere warm when they had the chance.
Another great site by the Dangerous Globe
