WiFi Network Name Lands Moscow Student in Jail

Officers confiscate router after a search
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 11, 2024 4:25 PM CDT
Pro-Ukraine Wi-Fi Name Puts Moscow Student Behind Bars
Moscow State University   (Getty/koromelena)

The Russian government's intolerance of dissent over its invasion of Ukraine has reached into a college dorm room. A Moscow State University student has been sentenced to 10 days in jail for giving his WiFi network the name "Slava Ukraini," which means "Glory to Ukraine." A Moscow court convicted the student Thursday of displaying "symbols of extremist organizations," the BBC reports. A police officer reported the name, then officers searched his room in student housing. They confiscated the student's router and arrested him.

"Glory to Ukraine" has become a rallying cry among opponents of the war, per Ostorozhno Novosti, an independent Russian Telegram news channel. The oppression of dissent has become more open since opposition figure Alexei Navalny died last month at a Russian penal colony, per CNN. Hundreds of people were rounded up for placing flowers in his memory. The Russian human rights group OVD-Info counts more than 260 people now serving jail terms in punishment for opposition to the war. Voting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's reelection begins Friday. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X