The court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug — Ugra sentenced Tionge Ziba, a student of the Ugra State University, who came to Russia from Zambia, to a year's probation because of a video of twerking near the Eternal Flame. This was reported by the press service of the court.
The girl was found guilty in the case of desecration of symbols of military glory on the Internet (Part 4 of Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code). According to investigators, on April 16, 2022, Ziba published a video on Instagram of herself twerking at the Eternal Flame in Victory Park. According to the Investigative Committee, she accompanied the video with an “offensive signature.”
The court prohibited Ziba from “engaging in activities related to posting materials” on the Internet, and also ordered her to have a permanent place of residence and study.
The Baza Telegram channel on April 19, 2022 published an excerpt from Ziba’s video, which she signed : “Shaking ass for the dead, I am sure they are sleeping well tonight” (“Shaking ass for the dead, I’m sure they sleep well today” — MZ).
On the same day, the department of the Investigative Committee for Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra showed a video of the student’s apology. She said on camera: “I want to apologize to everyone for the video that I published on April 16th. I didn’t know what it [the monument] really meant and that I could upset someone with it. I didn't want the video I posted to be offensive or disrespectful to the deceased. <…> I really apologize to everyone. I hope they will understand and forgive me.”
In April 2023, notes the publication “Siberia. Realities,” the court returned Ziba’s case to the prosecutor’s office due to errors in her name. “The investigative body erroneously identified the defendant’s last name as Tionge, and her first name as Ziba, as evidenced by the materials of the criminal case,” the resolution said. The case came to court again in November last year.
In 2021, the Ugra media holding showed a story about a program for students from Zambia, who were offered to learn Russian online at Ugra State University, and then apply to a university with majors in construction and ecology. Ziba also appeared in the report, who met with a representative of Rossotrudnichestvo in Lusaka.