Artemy Ostanin sentenced to greater than 5 years in a penal colony after joking a few ‘legless’ struggle veteran.
Printed On 4 Feb 2026
A Russian comic has been sentenced to greater than 5 years in a penal colony for telling a joke a few disabled struggle veteran.
Twenty-nine-year-old humorist Artemy Ostanin acquired his sentence in a Moscow courtroom on Wednesday after being convicted of inciting hatred.
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His case centres on a 2025 comedy routine wherein he joked a few veteran who misplaced his legs in a wartime explosion and needed to journey a skateboard, calling him a “legless skater”. Footage of the efficiency went viral, frightening outrage amongst Russian nationalists who claimed Ostanin had disrespected troopers fighting in Ukraine.
Ostanin, who was arrested final March whereas attempting to flee to Belarus, denied that his joke referred to Russians in fight in Ukraine. He was additionally discovered responsible of offending Christians over a separate joke about Jesus that angered Orthodox nationalists.
“The ultimate sentence for Ostanin is imprisonment for 5 years and 9 months in a basic regime penal colony,” decide Olesya Mendeleyeva was quoted as saying by Russian state information company RIA Novosti.
‘Legal guidelines used to silence speech’
In his ultimate assertion to the courtroom, Ostanin denounced the proceedings as unjust, saying, “I hope nobody ever finds themselves in the identical scenario of brutal authorized abuse that I did.” When requested whether or not he understood the sentence, he replied, “To hell together with your judicial apply. No, I don’t,” the information company Reuters reported.
Along with his jail time period, Ostanin was fined 300,000 rubles ($3,900) and positioned on a authorities record of designated “terrorists and extremists” – a measure often used against political opponents.
Russian rights group Memorial slammed Ostanin’s prosecution.
“This case exhibits how imprecise extremism and blasphemy legal guidelines are used to silence speech, intimidate artists, and punish humour,” the group mentioned in a press release on X.
Since launching its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has sharply intensified its campaign against critics.
