The Russian military court of appeal has upheld the six-year prison sentence for Andy Stone, the communications director of Meta Platforms, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.
Stone was found guilty of public calls for terrorism, a verdict now affirmed by the higher court.
This decision was reported by a TASS correspondent from the court building.
Earlier, the 2nd Western District Military Court found Stone guilty under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code, which deals with the public justification of terrorism.
Stone was sentenced to six years of imprisonment in absentia. His sentence will commence from the moment of his detention or extradition to Russia.
The charges against Stone stem from an incident on March 11, 2022, when he allegedly posted content online, including on X (formerly Twitter), that justified hostile and violent actions against Russian Armed Forces personnel involved in the special military operation in Ukraine.
The material was said to include public calls for acts of terrorism aimed at killing servicemen.
Under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code, Stone faced charges of public calls for terrorist activity, public justification of terrorism, or propaganda of terrorism.
This law provides for punishments ranging from fines to imprisonment for a term of five to seven years.
