A young student is facing jail time after getting arrested for twerking next to a war memorial.
21-year-old Rebecca Ziba is a student from Zambia who was arrested in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, after ‘disrespecting’ the Memorial of Glory by twerking in front of the monument.
After posting a video of herself dancing, Ziba was apprehended by the authorities and accused of committing Nazi activities.
Captioning her short clip, the student wrote: “Shaking a** for the dead, (I’m) sure they are sleeping (well) tonight.”
Her actions have since gotten her arrested, whereas Euronews reported that Ziba could face up to three years in prison and a penalty of $40,000 for the “desecration” of the statue.
As Russia’s Criminal Code – Part 4 of Article 354.1 in particular – states, there is a given “responsibility for the rehabilitation of Nazism.”
Following her arrest, Ziba apologized to the authorities and begged for forgiveness saying she had never meant to hurt anyone.
“I want to apologize to everyone for the video that I posted on April 16. I posted… without knowledge of what it actually meant and knowing who it’s going to hurt or upset,” she said in a clip taken by the Russian Investigative Committee.
“I posted a video of me dancing on a monument and I did not mean to be… the video that I posted, I didn’t intend for it to be offensive.”
The student added: “I’m very very very sorry to everyone. I didn’t know. And if I knew, I was never going to post it. I hope I’m understood and forgiven.”
After making the headlines, government officials confirmed that Ziba’s actions are under investigation.
“The Khanty-Mansiysk Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigation Department of the Russian Investigative Committee for Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra initiated a criminal case against a 21-year-old citizen of a foreign state,” officials revealed.
“She is suspected of committing a crime under Part 4 of Art. 354.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (desecration of the symbol of military glory of Russia).”
They added: “According to the investigation, on April 16, 2022, the suspect, while in the Victory Park of the city of Khanty-Mansiysk at the Memorial of Glory to the soldiers of the district who died during the Great Patriotic War, performed an obscene dance against the backdrop of the Eternal Flame, a video of which she posted on her page in one of the social networks, accompanied by an offensive inscription.
“The day before, the suspect was detained with the participation of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, and interrogated by the investigator on the circumstances of the incident, during the interrogation she repented and apologized for her actions.
“A complex of investigative actions aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident is being carried out in the criminal case. The investigation is ongoing.”
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