(Moscow) A Russian court on Monday indicted Andy Stone, the spokesperson for the American social media giant Meta, in absentia and ordered his detention, accusing him of “promoting terrorist activities”, while the company is classified “extremist” in Russia.
“The court granted the investigator’s request, choosing a coercive measure in the form of pre-trial detention with regard to Andy Mark Stone”, who is not in Russia, indicated a spokesperson. word of the court, Olga Nazarova, quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax.
He is accused of having “encouraged terrorist activities using his official position”, a crime punishable by 20 years of imprisonment, the court said.
On Sunday, the Russian Interior Ministry included the name of Andy Stone, Meta’s communications director, on the wanted list.
Russia officially designated the American group, parent company of Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram, in October 2022 as a “terrorist and extremist” organization, opening the possibility of serious legal proceedings against its users in the country.
Facebook and Instagram have also been blocked in Russia since the start of the offensive in Ukraine and are inaccessible without a virtual private network (VPN), like Twitter and many media sites critical of the government.
Before its ban, millions of Russians used Meta applications, in particular Instagram, a network which remains very popular among young people in the country despite its blocking.
In April 2022, Russia placed the leader of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, on its blacklist of people prohibited from entering its territory.