Russian Twitch steamer Yokobovich reportedly banned and imprisoned for making videos about the invasion of Ukraine

Russian Twitch streamer Anna "Yokobovich" was reportedly sentenced to imprisonment for five and a half years for live-streaming accounts of witnesses of the Russian army's occupation of the city of Bucha, Ukraine. These witness accounts supposedly detailed the various violent acts committed by the army. Anna's account on Twitch has been banned for violation of the platform's terms of service. However, no direct confirmation of the reason behind the ban has been provided since.

As reported by the French news agency AFP through the Moscow Times, she was charged with spreading false information about the Russian army through her Twitch content. This was specifically regarding a live broadcast by her in June 2023. It involved residents from Bucha who made allegations of the Russian Army carrying out a massacre in the region in 2022.

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Russian streamer Yokobovich reportedly imprisoned and banned after making videos covering Russian violence in Ukraine

Anna Bazhutova was banned from Twitch after her videos on the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Image via zelibobaeba/Instagram)

Twitch streamer Anna "Yokobovich" had reportedly been held in custody and was awaiting a trial since August 2023. This came after pro-war Russian netizens reported the streamer to law enforcement authorities for her content. Two months following the online reports made against her, her home was scoured by the Russian police, and her electronic devices were seized. Her Twitch channel was also eventually "blocked".

On June 5, 2024, Yokobovich was found guilty of spreading "fake" information about the Russian army during her trial at The Ostankino District Court in Northern Moscow. This is in line with laws passed by Russia in March 2022 regarding the spread of "deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation". This law allows for imprisonment for up to fifteen years, based on the severity of the consequences caused by the "fake" information.

Reportedly, Anna Bazhutova's lawyer has labeled the sentence passed against her as "harsh" and has expressed the intention to appeal against it.

Other Russian-origin individuals have also been accused of violating this law, such as Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky, who was sentenced to eight years in prison and declared a "foreign agent".

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In other news, Russian-American Kick streamer Vitaly is known for his controversial content involving feuds and pranks. On May 16, 2023, he teamed up with Adin Ross for a live stream, where Adin gave him an Audemars Piguet worth $50,000. However, as Adin handed over the watch, Vitaly claimed that the watch was "fake" and "from China".