Russian regional court orders YouTube, other sites blocked because of extremist material

A court in Russia's Far East has ordered a local Internet provider to block access to five websites including YouTube because extremist materials allegedly were available on them.

Government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta says in Wednesday's edition that the court in Komsomolsk-on-Amur found Adolf Hitler's writings were available on some sites along with a video called "Russia for Russians" — a slogan used by xenophobic ultranationalists.

Internet provider RA RTS Rosnet says it has appealed the July 16 ruling.

Russia's anti-extremism laws have been criticized for being used to stifle freedom of expression, most recently in this month's conviction of two curators of an art exhibit that showed paintings deemed offensive to the Russian Orthodox Church.

(Published by FOX News – July 27, 2010)