Russia’s Western District Military Court No. 2 sentenced Ukrainian journalist Oleksiy Homon in absentia to 9 years in prison on terrorism charges. The ruling was passed on 15 April 2026, Mediazona reports.
According to the news outlet, the prosecution was triggered by Homon’s two interviews with former “What? Where? When?” player and journalist Rovshan Askerov.
The Russian investigation claims that in the first interview, released in January 2023, the two called for an assassination of Russia’s political leadership, and claims that Homon encouraged listeners to sponsor terrorism in the second one, published in July 2024.
Both interviews were released on the Dmytro Gordon YouTube channel.
Oleksiy Homon graduated the Karazin University of Kharkiv, majoring in journalism. He is a former host and correspondent with Novyny and UA: Pershyi.
On 1 July 2024, a court in Russia sentenced Dmytro Gordon, the owner of the media outlet “Gordon”, to 14 years in prison in absentia. In March 2022, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a case against Gordon for public calls for a war of aggression; inciting nation-based hatred or enmity, and publicly spreading false information about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces.