Russians cage Artemy Ostanin for almost six years

A Russian comedian has been jailed for almost six years after making a joke about a disabled person.

Authorities had accused Artemy Ostanin of ‘inciting hatred’ in a routine about a man without legs who ran into him on a skateboard in the Moscow metro. 

Ostanin referred to the skateboard as a ‘stump-mobile’ and suggested that the man may have lost his legs after stepping on a mine. 

The comic was accused of insulting a participant in the ‘Special Military Operation’ – Moscow’s euphemism for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine – although the comedian insisted he was targeting beggars rather than veterans. 

Ostanin, 29,  was later hit with a second charge of ‘insulting religious feelings’, The Moscow Times reports, after authorities discovered a joke he previously made about Jesus. 

He had been locked up since his arrest in Belarus in March 2025 and was designated as a terrorist and extremist in June. He has now been sentenced to five years and 9 months in prison  and fined 300,000 rubles (£2,900) by the Meshchansky District Court in Moscow.

The human rights group Memorial has designated Ostanin a political prisoner, saying: ‘It is absurd to claim that Ostanin either used or threatened to use violence. Without this element, his actions could only be classified as an administrative offence, punishable by a maximum of 15 days’ jail.

‘Ostanin’s monologue may be considered unfunny or in poor taste, but there are no grounds for a criminal prosecution, still less for imprisonment. The comedian’s actions pose no threat to the public.’

Ostanin previously claimed he was brutally beaten by Belarusian law enforcement officers – claims the authorities denied. 

Published: 4 Feb 2026