A Russian state prosecutor has sought a nearly six-year prison sentence for stand-up comic Artemy Ostanin, who was taken into custody last year due to allegations of insulting war veterans during a performance.

Ostanin was apprehended in Belarus in March 2025 after the group Call of the People, known for its public denunciations of Russians, lodged a police complaint accusing him of making fun of disabled veterans from the Ukraine conflict.

The comedian has refuted claims that his joke targeted war veterans, asserting that the controversial joke was misinterpreted in context. Video footage from the performance in question supports his assertion.

Subsequently, Ostanin faced charges for inciting hatred. In June, he was also classified as a terrorist and extremist.

Last week, Ostanin was officially charged at Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court. He is now confronting a second allegation of “insulting the religious feelings of believers” after authorities uncovered a previous joke he made about Jesus.

During a court hearing on Tuesday, Ostanin claimed that Belarusian law enforcement officers physically mistreated him during his arrest in March, stating he sustained a spinal fracture before being transferred to Russia to face trial.

At the same hearing, a state prosecutor requested that Ostanin be convicted on both charges and sentenced to five years and 11 months in a medium-security prison, along with a fine of 300,000 rubles ($3,900).

The judge presiding over the case has set the next hearing for February 2.

In an unexpected turn during the hearing, Ostanin proposed to his girlfriend Valeria Naumova, who is a witness in the proceedings.

According to Mediazona, none of the individuals who claimed to be offended by Ostanin’s jokes were present at Tuesday’s hearing.