Russian authorities have placed a man with dual U.S.-Russian citizenship in pre-trial custody for “rehabilitating Nazism,” the St. Petersburg court said Saturday.
“[Yury] Malev was detained on Dec. 8… and charged the same day. He admitted partial guilt,” the court said on Telegram.
Malev was charged with rehabilitation of Nazism, which carries up to five years in prison.
The court said that Malev had published two posts on social media, which desecrated the St. George ribbon, a historical symbol of Russian and Soviet military successes.
His posts “expressed obvious disrespect for society and Russia’s days of military glory,” the court said.
They “were an insult to the memory of the Great Patriotic War, and to the defenders of the Fatherland,” it added, using the Russian term for World War II.
The first post included sexual language, while the second one featured “a photo of a corpse with instructions on ‘how to wear the St. George ribbon’,” the court detailed.
Malev, who holds both Russian and U.S. citizenship according to the court, was remanded in custody until Feb. 7, 2024.