A Russian Youtuber has been sentenced to a suspended sentence of three and a half years for having published a video in which he appeared Playing Pokémon GO in a church.
The court in Yekaterinburg has found Ruslan Sokolovsky, 22, guilty of insulting religious beliefs and inciting hatred. Sokolovsky has pleaded not guilty.
Inside a Church
The incident took place in 2016 at the local Orthodox church, where Sokolovsky was recorded playing the Niantic game of Pokémon GO. The police arrested him shortly after. In the video, Sokolovsky himself refers to local media articles that had discouraged people from playing in Russian churches.
"How could someone offend someone by entering a church with a smartphone to play Pokémon Go?" He wondered. The video has almost 2 million views.
Last year, Ruslan Skolovsky uploaded a video to his blog where he was seen playing the mobile game in a church erected at the site of the killing of Russia's last czar and his family in the city of Yekaterinburg. The man was detained since October. In addition to that, the young man has also been accused of "illegal traffic of special technical equipment" after a pen was seized with a camera integrated in the registry of his house.
During the trial, the prosecution asked Sokolovsky for three and a half years in prison. He apologized for having offended religious beliefs, and stated that the way he had made the video was "too cynical for Russian society." Judge Yekaterina Shoponyak even compared the YouTuber with "those who committed mass repressions against the religious." He also said that his video showed "disrespect for society" and "tried to offend religious feelings." The church where Sokolovsky filmed the video was built in honor of Tsar Nicholas II.
According to many sources, Russian justice is often harsh at condemning acts considered insulting against temples and religious symbols, having now this last case of Pokémon Go. In 2012, two young members of the Pussy Riot group were sentenced to two years in prison under the hate speech charge for a church performance.
Now The New Update for Android
Pokémon Go developers don't rest. Every few years we have news updates of the app with more or less news, but also many users thank. Having new elements in the game is something that all users value and appreciate.
There’s someone behind who cares (and a lot) for them. Another day, we have news about the new version for Android (which will be the number 0.63.1), which despite bringing few innovations never more comment. This time it has been the owner, developer company, Niantic, responsible for announcing it through its official website.
