Reuters claims that Andy Stone was found guilty after “publicly defending terrorism.”
Andy Stone, the spokesperson for Meta, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Russian military court for “publicly defending terrorism,” according to Reuters. The punishment was handed down in absentia. Reportedly, Stone’s attorney has requested that the defendant be found not guilty, and there are plans to appeal the punishment.
Stone was placed on a wanted list by Russian authorities and a criminal investigation was initiated in February. A Moscow court issued an arrest warrant for Stone on multiple accusations relating to terrorism. This occurred a few months after the original decision was made. It also mentioned Stone’s alleged “promotion of terrorist activities, public calls for terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism and public calls for extremist activities.”
Following the initiation of an investigation into Meta by Russia’s investigative committee in March of 2022, this remedy was taken. It asserted that Stone had incited extremist activity after relaxing “a ban on calls for violence against the Russian military on its platforms.” Stone was accused of doing this. Approximately at that time, Stone stated that Meta was “temporarily” letting some posts that would have been removed from its platforms for inciting violence to remain there. However, he also mentioned that the business would continue to prohibit “credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”
Under any circumstances, it is quite improbable that Stone will actually do time in prison in Russia, unless he were to travel to Russia or to a country that has an extradition deal with the nation. It is not unusual for a person to be accused or sentenced in another nation (often for crimes linked to hacking or spying) yet never actually have to cope with the ramifications of those charges or sentences.
The Russian government has made Meta a declared terrorist organization. Soon after it began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it began blocking access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.