The Russian Foreign Ministry has reportedly demanded the release of a Latvian YouTuber who was jailed for making pro-Putin video content amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
YouTuber Kirill Fedorov, whose content consists primarily of videos about military vehicles and equipment, as well as gameplay and commentary related to the video game War Thunder, was reportedly arrested on charges of “treason” this week.
Popular military vlogger Kirill Fedorov arrested in Latvia for treason, apparently for the pro-Russian slant of his videos. https://t.co/EYnByq38AI
For comparison, Russian anti-war protesters residing in an actual combatant country get off with small fines. pic.twitter.com/e9Fb4QkyFB
— Anatoly Karlin (🅉,🅉) (@akarlin0) March 21, 2022
According to reports from European media, “Fedorov began to receive regular threats and demands to change the direction of [his video content] to anti-Russian” from the Latvian government.
The YouTuber then “decided to emigrate to Russia, but just before leaving, on March 17, he was detained by the Latvian state security authorities without giving reasons,” and, “After 48 hours prescribed by law, he was not released.”
Fedorov’s family was also reportedly threatened with legal repercussions if they tried to tell their story to the Russian press.
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs now officially demands Latvia release the military history youtuber they arrested yesterday pic.twitter.com/o20ujnDGy4
— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) March 22, 2022
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly addressed the situation in a statement that noted, “We are outraged by another fact of gross violation of fundamental human rights in Latvia, where the well-known Internet blogger Kirill Fedorov was recently detained for his assessment of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.”
“We demand the immediate release of the independent expert Kirill Fyodorov and an end to the lawlessness,” the statement continued.
“The journalist community must also have its say.”
Russia invaded Ukraine last month after a years long standoff over the disputed Donbass region. Russia claims it launched a “special military operation” to protect ethnic Russians from Ukrainian state violence, while Ukraine and the international community claim Russia’s invasion was completely unprovoked.
AB
March 31, 2022 at 6:00 am
For the Russian government, it is outrageous hypocrisy to complain about this, when Russians who criticize their own government face up to 15 years in prison.