Russia opens probe into flag insult by US band
Print Edition
Russia’s interior ministry has launched a criminal probe into flag desecration after a US rock musician stuffed a Russian flag down his trousers at a concert.
The band Bloodhound Gang scandalized Russia when a video was released showing its bassist Jared Hasselhoff stuffing the white-blue-and-red tricolor down his trousers and then throwing it into the crowd at a concert last Wednesday in Odessa, Ukraine.
The video of the flag incident has been watched more than 400,000 times on YouTube.
The interior ministry said in a statement yesterday that it had opened a criminal case “after looking into actions that demonstrated disrespect to the Russian state flag by a musician from a foreign band.”
According to Russian law, desecration of the national flag could lead to a jail sentence of up to one year.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said yesterday that it was examining the incident. It condemned “the cynicism of the said crime, which expressed clear disrespect for the Russian state.”
“The investigation will evaluate everyone connected with this crime, from the actual perpetrators to its organizers,” the Investigative Committee said, adding that it would ask for help with its inquiries from the United States and Ukraine.
Ukraine yesterday launched a separate probe into Hasselhoff urinating on a Ukrainian flag on stage in Kiev on July 30. In Ukraine, flag desecration is punishable by up to three years in jail.
After the Ukrainian leg of their tour, Bloodhound Gang was banned from a festival in southern Russia on Saturday. They flew out of Russia after having their visas cut short by the migration services.
Before they left Russia, the group apologized at a news conference, saying that it was a tradition that everything thrown from the stage to fans “takes a trip through the pants.”
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