A Russian rapper has been convicted of promoting drug use through his music, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Friday, citing a spokeswoman for the Krasnoyarsk branch of the Federal Drug Control Service.
A district court in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on Friday convicted Alexei Dolmatov, known by his stage name Guf, of “drug propaganda,” sentencing him to a fine of 4,500 rubles ($70) “without the confiscation of the product, [the songs],” spokeswoman Anna Trutneva was cited as saying.
Last month Dolmatov spent six days in a special detention center and received compulsory drug treatment when tests after a concert revealed traces of cocaine in his blood, media reported earlier. The rapper had previously been detained on suspicion of drug usage in December 2014.
Russia's ban on “drug propaganda” makes the publication of material seen to promote the benefits of drug consumption punishable with a fine of up to 5,000 rubles ($78).
President Vladimir Putin in July asked the government in a statement on the Kremlin's website to amend the law to make the spreading of information on drugs a criminal offense.
