Russian blogger busted for ‘Pokémon’ blasphemy
He is convicted of inciting religious hate by playing game in church
A Russian blogger was convicted and given a suspended sentence Thursday for inciting religious hatred by playing the video game Pokémon Go in a church, the latest example of Russian authorities’ willingness to uphold strict blasphemy laws in what was once an officially atheist state.
Ruslan Sokolovsky, 22, was given a 31⁄ 2- year suspended sentence for playing the game on his mobile phone during a service in August in the Church of All Saints, an Orthodox church in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourthlargest city, on the edge of the Ural Mountains. Sokolovsky was detained in October.
The incident came to the attention of authorities after Sokolovsky posted a video on his blog last year showing him playing the game in the church, said to be built on the spot where the last Russian czar, Nicholas II, and his family were murdered in 1918.
The judge in the case said Sokolovsky’s video showed his “disrespect for society” and that he “intended to offend religious sentiments.” He faced a maximum sentence of seven years under a law that prohibits the “violation of the right to freedom of conscience and belief.” Prosecutors sought only half that.
Sokolovsky was convicted under the same law that sent two women from the Pussy Riot punk rock collective to prison for two years in 2012. The group had staged an unauthorized performance against President Vladimir Putin in a cathedral in Moscow.
Judge Yekaterina Shoponyak said Sokolovsky had been on trial not only for playing the game in the church but also for “offending believers.”
She said his video made a “mockery of the immaculate conception,” denied “the existence of Jesus and prophet Mohammed” and gave “an offensive description of Patriarch Kirill,” the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Pokémon Go is an augmentedreality game that uses GPS technology, enabling players to catch virtual monsters in real-world locations.
After the verdict Thursday, Sokolovsky thanked the news media for raising the alarm about the trial. “I would probably have been sent to prison if it wasn’t for the journalists’ support,” he said. This year, Sokolovsky said he “may be an idiot but was by no means an extremist.”
Human rights groups condemned the verdict.
“While some may see Ruslan Sokolovsky’s comments on religion as disparaging, this alone is not enough to throw him behind bars,” said Sergei Nikitin, director of Amnesty International’s Russia operation. “Make no mistake, this is neither piety nor a genuine effort to protect the freedom of religion in Russia — especially coming after the authorities only last month banned Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“This is another assault on freedom of expression,” Nikitin said.
Russia’s Supreme Court ruled in April that the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious sect was an “extremist” group that posed a threat to public order and security. The court ordered the closure of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ headquarters in Russia, along with 395 local chapters.
“I was born and grew up in the Soviet Union where 98% of citizens were atheists,” opposition leader Alexei Navalny wrote on Twitter while Sokolovsky’s hearing was webcast. “And now I’m listening to a verdict where a man has been convicted for atheism.”