Comedian Ostanin pleaded not guilty in the hate speech case
Stand-up comedian Artemy Ostanin (listed by Rosfinmonitoring as an extremist and terrorist) said during a court hearing in the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow that he would plead not guilty to charges of insulting the feelings of believers and inciting hatred. This was reported on January 19 by a correspondent of Izvestia from the courtroom.
Ostanin denies the charges under Articles 148 and 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The investigation believes that during his speeches in March 2025, he made statements insulting the feelings of believers, as well as statements aimed at inciting hostility. The comedian had previously apologized publicly, but pleaded not guilty in court.
The criminal case was sent to court at the end of December 2025. Earlier, in June, Rosfinmonitoring added Ostanin to the register of terrorists and extremists. The defense repeatedly petitioned to change the measure of restraint from detention to house arrest, citing the state of health, but the court rejected these requests.
On December 27 last year, the Meshchanskaya interdistrict prosecutor's office approved the indictment against Ostanin. Ostanin's arrest while trying to leave Russia became known on March 18. According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, he is accused of committing a crime under paragraph "a" of Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code ("Incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity").
On January 12, the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow extended the detention of a stand-up comedian in a case of inciting hatred and insulting the feelings of believers. The comedian will stay in jail until June 25. Later, on January 17, his bank accounts were blocked as part of the criminal prosecution.
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