A Russian YouTuber who filmed industrial sites and abandoned facilities has been arrested on charges of illegally obtaining and disseminating state secrets, a court in Moscow said on August 12.
Andrei Pyzh, whose YouTube channel has nearly 800,000 followers, could face up to eight years in jail if found guilty. It was not immediately clear whether he had denied the accusation or not.
In his videos, Pyzh visited sites including abandoned bunkers and a functioning radar station used for Russia's nuclear strike early-warning system, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported.
Details of criminal cases involving Russian state secrets or treason seldom are publicized because authorities say they are classified. That, critics say, makes it nearly impossible to monitor them.
A court in Moscow told Reuters it had ordered Pyzh to be held in custody on August 6 until October pending trial.