A Russian court has swiftly convicted and sentenced Meta spokesperson Andy Stone to six years in prison in absentia for allegedly justifying terrorism. The charges against Stone stem from remarks he made in 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Stone, who is based in the US, announced temporary changes to Meta’s hate speech policy to allow for ‘forms of political expression that would normally violate (its) rules, like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.”
Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Stone and other unidentified Meta employees, describing the statement as ‘illegal calls to violence and killings of Russian citizens.’ Meta was also outlawed as an extremist organization and Facebook and Instagram were blocked in Russia.
The trial, in which Stone was represented by a government-appointed lawyer, began on Friday and concluded on Monday after only two hearings. Stone was sentenced to six years in a penal colony and barred from administering websites for four more years.
Meta on Monday declined to comment on the verdict. In April 2022, Russia also formally barred Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg from entering the country.
