SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An American YouTuber who sparked national outrage in South Korea for provocative stunts, including dancing on a statue honoring victims of wartime sexual slavery, was sentenced to six months in prison Wednesday.
The Seoul Western District Court found Ramsey Khalid Ismael, a self-proclaimed internet “troll” known online as Johnny Somali, guilty of multiple charges, including obstruction of business and distributing fabricated sexually explicit content.
Prosecutors had sought a three-year term for Ismael, who also faced accusations of harassing staff and visitors at an amusement park, disrupting a convenience store by blasting music and upending noodles onto a table, causing similar scenes on a bus and subway, and distributing non-consensual deepfake videos.
The court said the 25-year-old displayed “severe” disrespect for South Korean law, noting that he offended countless people with livestreamed stunts aimed at generating YouTube revenue. The court ordered his immediate detention following the verdict, citing him as a flight risk.
In October 2024, Somali sparked public outrage in South Korea after posting a video of himself kissing and performing a lap dance on a statue commemorating victims of the Japanese military’s sexual slavery during World War II. He later apologized, claiming he was unaware of the monument’s significance.
Ismael, who was barred from leaving the country pending his trial, earlier told local reporters that he regretted his actions and wished to apologize to the South Korean public.
American YouTuber Johnny Somali speaks to reporters as he arrives at the Seoul Western District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Choi Jae-koo/Yonhap via AP)
The prospect of a second round of talks was uncertain Tuesday after Iran’s chief negotiator said Iran would not negotiate in the face of threats while U.S. President Donald Trump offered mixed messages about the path ahead for the U.S. war against Iran, declaring that he was in no rush to end the conflict.
Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, wrote in a post on X early Tuesday that “We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,” and the Islamic Republic has been preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”
Trump indicated that he still expects to dispatch his negotiating team, led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, to Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad for talks, even as Iran insisted it would not take part until the U.S. leader dialed back his demands. Trump said he’s “highly unlikely” to renew the ceasefire before it expires Wednesday.
Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.
Here is the latest:
Iran said Tuesday it hanged a man convicted over allegedly setting fire to a mosque in northern Tehran during nationwide protests in January.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency identified the man as Amir Ali Mir Jafari.
There was no immediate information about Jafari among activists who follow Iran.
Iran has been accused of repeatedly holding closed-door trials against suspects who can’t challenge the evidence placed against them.
Iran already has hanged people from the January protests, something that U.S. President Donald Trump had described as a red line before the recent war.
Shares are mixed in Asia and oil prices have slipped following the latest rise of U.S.-Iran tensions.
The lackluster start to trading Tuesday followed a modest retreat on Wall Street.
On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from its all-time high and the Dow industrials edged less than 0.1% lower. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil remains above $95.
Trump attacked critics after a second round of talks with Iran was thrown into doubt by the U.S. Navy’s seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship.
Financial markets have had vicious swings, both up and down, since the war began because of uncertainty about how long it may last.
The fear is that a long-term disruption could keep so much oil and natural gas off global markets that it creates a punishing wave of inflation for the global economy.
Police officers stand guard at a checkpoint on a barricaded ahead of the second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Women share a moment as they look at a smartphone at the main gate of the Tehran University as a banner shows portraits of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman talks on her cellphone as she walks past a billboard showing Rais Ali Delvari, a national hero in an early 1900 uprising against British forces in southern Iran in the Persian Gulf, right, and the late Revolutionary Guard's navy chief Alireza Tangsiri, who was killed in the U.S.-Israeli strike in late March 2026, commanding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, on a building at a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man mourns over the coffin of a Hezbollah fighter who was killed in the war between Hezbollah and Israel during a mass funeral in Bazouriyeh village, south Lebanon, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
