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Russian Teen Sentenced to Prison in Plot to Blow up Virtual ‘Minecraft’ Building

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A Russian teen was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday for taking part in terrorist training exercises that included plotting to blow up a virtual government building in the game Minecraft.

Prosecutors say Nikita Uvarov, 16, helped in the virtual construction of a Russian Federal Security Service building in Minecraft and then plotted to blow it up. He also handed out anti-government leaflets in Siberia, they say. Two other teens who reportedly helped Uvarov were given suspended sentences, court paperwork reveals.

Before learning of his fate, Uvarov told the judge overseeing his sentencing hearing, “I am not a terrorist; I am not guilty. I would just like to finish my studies, get an education and go somewhere far away from here; somewhere I don’t irritate anyone from the special services.”

Are Americans sometimes guilty of forgetting how nice it is to have freedom of speech?

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