Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MOSCOW (AP) — A member of Russia's parliament has asked prosecutors to determine whether Apple violated Russia's ban on gay "propaganda" when it delivered U2's latest album to a half-billion iTunes users for free last year.
Izvestia, a newspaper loyal to the Kremlin, reported Wednesday that it has a copy of Alexander Starovoitov's appeal to prosecutors in which he says the cover of the album "Songs of Innocence" shows two men "in a display of non-traditional sexual relations."
In fact, the cover shows the band's drummer embracing his 18-year-old son, both of them shirtless.
It is not yet clear whether prosecutors will open an investigation.
Some of those in Russia who ridiculed Starovoitov's appeal drew a comparison to the time in 2006 when President Vladimir Putin kissed a small boy's bare stomach.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
