Moscow:
A court in Russia's Far East has ordered a local Internet provider to block local access to five websites, including YouTube, alleging extremist materials were available on them.
The government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta said on Wednesday the court in Komsomolsk-on-Amur found writings of Adolf Hitler were available on some of the sites along with a video called "Russia for Russians." The latter is a slogan popular with xenophobic ultranationalists.
The Internet provider, RA RTS Rosnet, issued a statement saying it has appealed the July 16 ruling.
Russia's anti-extremism laws have come under criticism 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.