In a Russian church, this trainer played Pokémon GO and broke the law. For this, he received a suspended sentence and is on a list of terrorists.
Ruslan Sokolovsky is a Russian blogger and has now been severely punished for his hobby. In August 2016, he uploaded a video on his YouTube channel showing him playing Pokémon GO in a church. He was arrested on charges of inciting religious hatred.
Initially, he was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 3.5 years, which he managed to reduce to 2 years and 3 months. This week, he received an additional entry on a list of terrorists and extremists.
Pokémon Blogger now counted as a terrorist
It is hard to believe, but Ruslan Sokolovsky is now on a list of terrorists and extremists. The website Tass.com reports. One of Sokolovsky’s lawyers confirmed on Facebook that Ruslan is listed as number 5847 on such a list, which has a total of 7524 entries. Additionally, all his bank accounts have been closed.
With the extent of his “deed,” the Russian blogger hardly anticipated when he filmed one of his Pokémon GO adventures in a Russian church and later presented it on YouTube. The church in question is the “Cathedral on the Blood” in Yekaterinburg, which apparently holds significant importance in Russia.
That filming and playing Pokémon GO at this location would provoke might have been clear to him. At the beginning of his video, he showed a clip, explaining the penalties.
When Sokolovsky filmed there and even mentioned the “rare Pokémon ‘Jesus’,” he probably went a step too far. Therefore, he was found “guilty” on many counts. These included inciting religious hatred and blasphemy.
The original verdict was a 3.5-year suspended sentence, which was later reduced to 2 years and 3 months. Additionally, the blogger had to remove all videos from his YouTube channel that violated religious beliefs.
That he is now also regarded as a “terrorist” and is specifically named on a list of extremists and terrorists is hardly imaginable here in Germany. However, it shows the cultural differences that exist all over the world.
More news about Pokémon GO: The GO-Fest – Overview, Start Times, Legendary Pokémon
