The Russian atheist who filmed himself playing “Pokemon Go” inside a church has been convicted of “inciting religious hatred.”
In the summer of 2016, during the height of the “Pokemon Go” craze, Ruslan Sokolovsky filmed himself playing the game inside the Church of All Saints in Yekaterinburg.
In the video, the atheist vlogger mocked the idea of not being able to play “Pokemon Go” inside a church.
The video reportedly shows Sokolovsky saying, “For me, this is total bulls**t, because who can ever be offended by you walking around a church with your smartphone? Why the f**k would they lock you up for that?”
The Guardian reports on Thursday, Sokolovsky received a three and a half year suspended sentence for “inciting religious hatred.”
Sokolovsky had been allegedly detained since October and faced up to five years in prison.
The New York Times claims Judge Yekaterina Shoponyak said Sokolovsky’s videos showed “disrespect for society” and were “intended to offend religious sentiments.”
According to the judge, Shoponyak was also on trial for his videos that were reportedly a “mockery of the Immaculate Conception,” a “denial of the existence of Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad,” and “an offensive description of Patriarch Kirill.”
Sokolovsky told BBC Russian his videos might have been “too cynical for Russian society” and apologized to religious believers.
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