The Guardian reports that a Siberian military court sentenced 16-year-old Nikita Uvarov to five years in a penal colony for "training for terrorist activities." His "terrorist activities" amounted to planning to "blow up" a virtual building in the computer game Minecraft created by the FSB, which Putin's security agency formerly known as the KGB.
From The Guardian:
In his last words in court, reported by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, Uvarov spoke about pressure from authorities during the investigation and denied planning to blow anything up.
He pleaded not guilty and said that if he is handed real prison time, he will serve it "with a clear conscience and dignity."
"For the last time in this court I want to say: I am not a terrorist," he said.
"I just want to finish my studies, get an education and go somewhere far away from here, not to annoy anyone from the special services," the teen said.
The sentence was condemned by Russian opposition figures on social media.
"Sick sadists imprison children for having fun in a game," Lyubov Sobol, an ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, said on Twitter.
