Smolensk region resident sentenced over online calls for violence

A district court in Dorogobuzh sentenced a local resident to two years of compulsory labor for publicly calling for extremist activity online, the regional Federal Security Service office said.

The agency said the man repeatedly posted publicly accessible social media comments calling for violence on ethnic grounds against people from Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The court convicted him under Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code, which covers calls for extremist activity using the internet. Ten percent of his earnings will be withheld for the state.