ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- A court in St. Petersburg has dropped all charges against blogger Yury Khovansky, who was charged with terrorism over a song he wrote mocking the government's response to the 2002 hostage-taking incident at Moscow's Dubrovka Theater.
The second western district military court announced the decision on July 20, citing the statute of limitations.
The 32-year-old blogger, whose YouTube channel has more than 4.4 million subscribers, was detained in June last year on suspicion of "justifying terrorism" for the performance of his song online in 2020.
In February 2021, Khovansky publicly expressed regret over the song after an investigation into his performance was launched, saying he was "ashamed" of it.
Khovansky used what officials called "very offensive words" in the song when describing minors who were victims of the October 2002 tragedy at the Dubrovka Theater, where some 40 gunmen took hundreds of audience members, actors, and staff hostage and demanded the withdrawal of federal troops from Russia's Chechnya region.
The ordeal lasted more than two days, ending when security forces stormed the building after pumping in toxic gas that neutralized the attackers but led to the deaths of many hostages.
The government says 130 died, while an advocacy group for victims and relatives says that 174 died. Many choked on their own vomit, swallowed their tongues, or suffocated in cramped buses after security forces stormed the theater and dragged unconscious hostages out.
The Russian government has refused to reveal what gas was used in the operation, and relatives of victims accuse the government of seeking to cover up its role in the deaths of their family members.