Kovtonyuk Sergey Nikolaevich

In Murmansk in March 2024, 35-year-old local resident Sergey Kovtonyuk was detained. He was accused of calling for terrorism. The reason for the criminal prosecution was an 'audio file about the activities of the Ukrainian paramilitary nationalist association "Azov, containing justification of terrorism,' which Kovtonyuk posted on his page on the social network VKontakte on October 22, 2022. According to law enforcement, the song is of an "extremist nature. What track the man posted is not specified. Sergey himself explained that the song is an appeal to his relatives who live in Ukraine: 'I have many relatives living in Ukraine—brothers, sisters, grandmother, grandfather.'" 3. When I posted this song, it was more of an appeal to them — to relatives,' Kovtonyuk said. The court placed the man in custody for the duration of the investigation. On August 7, 2023, the Northern Fleet Military Court found Sergey Kovtonyuk guilty and sentenced him to three years in a general regime penal colony. The court also deprived Kovtonyuk of the right to engage in website administration for two years. The verdict was not appealed and entered into legal force.