A Russian prankster who fell to the ground claiming to have had a seizure related to coronavirus has been jailed for more than two years. Watch footage of the incident below:
Karomatullo Dzhaborov, 26, has been sentenced to 28 months in a Russian prison colony after faking a coronavirus seizure on a packed train carriage.
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Footage emerged last year of Dzhaborov on an underground train dressed in a face mask. The incident took place on the Moscow Metro, between the Polezhaevskays and Ulitsa 1905 Goda stations in February 2020.
Dzhaborov is seen falling to the ground before pretending to have a coronavirus-related seizure.
As you can see from the footage, his fellow metro passengers clearly look stunned, but unfortunately the joke quickly went sour for Dzhaborov and his pals, who were subsequently arrested.
Dzhaborov has been in custody ever since.
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Now the Presnensky District Court of Moscow has convicted him under Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code: hooliganism committed on any other public transport by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.
He was sentenced to two years and four months in a penal colony.
Dzhaborov didn't act alone, and two of his accomplices, Stanislav Melikhov and Artur Isachenko, were also given two-year jail terms, with their sentences suspended for three years.
It was his pals who took the smartphone footage that shows the masked joker pretending to have the seizure after falling on the floor.
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As some passengers try to help him, suddenly one of Dzhaborov's friends screams 'coronavirus'.
Within seconds of arriving at the next stop, the carriage quickly empties.
At his trial, Dzhaborov's lawyer Aleksey Popov claimed his client's prank was simply to raise awareness of Covid-19.
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He said: "He has a bunch of videos on different topics that are important for our society.
"His goal was to turn people's attention to the fact that people need to wear masks and protect themselves from a dangerous virus."
According to the news website Pravo's report, another of Dzhaborov's lawyer Roman Shakhmanov said his client could be released in three weeks, taking into account the time spent in the pre-trial detention centre.
He stated this will only happen if the prosecutor's office and the metro administration do not appeal the verdict.
Featured Image Credit: @plohie_novosti_18/NewsflashTopics: World News, Coronavirus, Russia