A judicial authority in Saint Petersburg announced today, Saturday, that a man holding both American and Russian citizenship has been detained pending trial on charges of "rehabilitating Nazism" through two of his social media posts. The accusation against Yuri Maliev stems from posts in which he allegedly demeaned the Saint George ribbon, a symbol of courage in the Russian military. One of the posts contained profanity, while the other displayed an image of a dead body adorned with the ribbon.
The judicial authority stated that "this demonstrates a lack of respect for society and is an insult to the memory of the Great Patriotic War," the term used by Russians to refer to World War II. The U.S. State Department has confirmed awareness of the detention but has no comment on the case. Representatives for Maliev were not reachable for comment. The authority noted in a statement that Maliev, who was arrested in Saint Petersburg yesterday, Friday, "partially admitted guilt," but did not provide further details. Maliev has been remanded until February 7.
