MOSCOW, January 10 (RAPSI) – The Oktyabrsky District Court in St. Petersburg has extended until May 15 the detention of Philipp Budeykin, aka Philipp Fox, an administrator of a closed group on social network Vkontakte who stands charged with inciting teenagers to commit suicide, the court’s press service reported on Tuesday.
The hearing was held behind closed doors because case papers submitted by investigation contained information about minor children, the statement reads.
Budeykin was absent from court as he is currently undergoing sanity examination.
A criminal case was opened in May after several Russian media outlets reported about so-called Groups of Death, numerous groups where young people were encouraged to kill themselves.
Investigators claim that from December 2013 to May 2016 eight Groups of Death were registered on Vkontakte network. Fifteen teenagers from various regions of Russia were members of these groups and committed suicide.
Searches were conducted in ten regions of Russia.
About ten people testified in the case against Budeykin who was arrested on November 15. He remains in detention since his arrest.