The creator of the Blue Whale channel was sentenced to nine years in a high-security penal colony.

The Leninsky District Court of Novosibirsk sentenced Ilya Pogiblov, the creator of the Blue Whale social network channel, to nine years in a high-security penal colony. This was reported in the press service of the courts of general jurisdiction of the Novosibirsk region.

"Having a pathological interest in the death of others <...>, he organized activities aimed at encouraging an indefinite circle of people, including those under the age of majority, to commit suicide by creating a public channel called the Blue Whale," the agency said in a statement posted on the VKontakte social network.

The investigation found that in 2023, Pogrebov and his accomplice tried to drive their victims to suicide, but their actions were stopped by law enforcement agencies.

Pogiblov fully admitted his guilt. He was sentenced to nine years in prison to serve his sentence in a high-security penal colony. In addition, the court forbade him to administer any Internet resources for four years after his release.

In April last year, a Moscow resident was sentenced to two years in a penal colony for encouraging a minor to commit suicide. The man specially bought a page on the VKontakte social network and began to write to the child on behalf of a non-existent person. He introduced himself as the curator of the Blue Whale community.